HiI Mom
I am happy and jealous that you are down
visiting Allisa and her family. Also super way cool that you got to see Paul
McCartney live. Definitely a once in a lifetime experience.
I am super happy you got accepted into the
Business school. I fasted for you and put your name of the temple prayer roll
this past week. You are going to do awesome, you will be great!
Just believe in yourself. A quote I read from
a Liahona talk that I really like that applies really well in all aspects of
life is this: We would not sin, give up what we treasure most, or abandon our
hopes and such if we simply remembered the truth that we know. That is all that
Satan does, tries to get us to forget the truth that we know whether it be
through lies, doubts, or worries.
Love you lots mom!
Elder Roo
Hi Dad
That is pretty funny that Sahara was wanting
to tell me to tell her that I love her too. Well I know that she loves me,
especially after seeing that picture of her with the pink bag and according to
your words she does not put the pink bag down. So, yes, "Sahara, Uncle Roo
loves you." I still remember that one time almost 2 years ago that I went
out to California and Allisa, Sahara, and I went to the Lucasfilm LTD.
buildings. We took some pictures outside but there was one little cute one
where she leaned over and kissed me.
Well I feel first to go through and respond
more to what you shared, then I will share what is on my mind. As for seeing
the new man who was baptized, that is way cool! It's always something cool
about seeing someone just baptized and confirmed. Although I have not had any
other baptism of my own except Wayne's (which side story....yeah I know this
email may be all over the place a bit, but who cares! Wayne emailed me back
today and said he is doing well. As well as this past week when we went to the
temple part of our zone went together with the Zhongxing zone, so I rode the
train down to my old area, the Zhanghua station. I saw Elder Greenhalgh and
knew that when I move out of Fengshan he moved in. He had just moved up to
Zhanghua and so had been in Fengshan for 6 months as well. But he shared with
me how Wayne is doing. He talked about how they still almost every week visited
Wayne at their family restaurant. He still came to church and was doing good
reading and praying), I have had the privilege many times to see other people
get baptized. Like even this coming up week Elder Ward and Elder Ames (the
other Taiping Elders) have 2 baptisms on Saturday. They also had a third one
lined up for Saturday but because he didn't come to church yesterday, President
was saying to wait and get one more church added in (the Asia Area Presidency
has set a standard that investigators need to attend church 3 times, 2 of which
being for sure in the current ward where they live). So this investigator is
super good and solid, but next week he goes to Danbing, which is the required
military service that all the guys have to do. So that is why Elder Ward was
still pushing and hoping that he could be baptized this Saturday. But President
said to wait and see about trying to do it at the beginning of next week. But
you want to know what?! Guess where this investigator came from? Elder Ward and
I teach the intermediate English class together and we switch off between the
lesson portion and spiritual share portion. But yeah He was found from English
class. Even just this last week I had the spiritual share and shared focusing
on faith. I shared a couple scriptures coming from Alma 32 and Ether 12. I
ended with inviting to act and to meet with missionaries or come to church on
Sunday. And guess what happened Sunday!? A girl probably about 15 or 16 showed
up (mind you it had been raining) and asked about where church meeting was at.
We directed her to the 3rd floor and introduced the Sisters to her. But yeah
she was in my English class this last Wednesday and it was her first time. But
she totally acted! And came! And I believe the Sisters are going to be meeting
with her later this week. I saw the Sisters had already given her some
materials.
So as for your feeling about having a new
Elder.....nope. Not yet. Although 20 new missionaries are coming this week and
another 20 new missionaries will be coming at the next move call. Along with a
lot of missionaries going home and leadership roles going vacant. I really
don't know what will exactly happen. It could even be up in the air that Elder
Randall may move this next week. It's really uncertain. Maybe the Lord knows
better that Elder Randall and I have some things to improve upon and work on
right now. Last night was the first time that he actually kind of lost his
anger for a second. Then during companionship study this morning we talked for
almost the whole time really about our companionship. Really opened up a lot
more to each other. There is things I do and say that need to improve and
change. There is things that he needs to improve and change. We both talked out
a lot of things, knowing the goal and where we want to go. It just seems kind
of hard right now because we don't know exactly how to get there. Let me paint
you a picture. I don't know if you remember a Dilbert, but there is one where
the salesman brings Dilbert along who pretty much makes the sale go bad. Pretty
much in a nutshell Elder Randall and I have these two kinds of personalities.
He very much is like a salesman. Although he was studying Math major in
college, afterwards he was working at his brother's car lot basically helping
to go to auctions and everything to buy cars, fix them up, and then sell them
back. So he really pretty much has that whole personality of a salesman.
Whereas me I am very much like an engineer. That is how I think and act. There
is one solution/answer. I explain things out in greater depth rather than
quick, short, simple statements. Basically how Elder Randall explained it to me
is that I explain out my thoughts (which he said I have good most often on the
spot thoughts) but I may repeat myself of things or reexplain things (like
saying the same thing but just in a different way) and then when I am done may
listen a little to someone else's ideas or thoughts, but because I already have
a thought/solution/answer in my mind, I feel and think it is the best one. So
that is where I am an engineer. Math there is only one solution. This is why I
then also sometimes have a hard time with companionship study or studying
together with others. Because sometimes when I am already scripted in a subject
and know it well, I guess I just don't really want to or like to listen to
others because I have the answer and solution already. That is why I think when
I was home with you and we did FHE or something and I was so difficult to talk
or share in FHE was because I was and am so prideful that I think I already
have the knowledge and what I need rather than listening and accepting others
ideas and thoughts. This is extremely difficult I have even found with teaching
the Gospel. I see it so clearly and purely, how good it is and how much it has
blessed me, that I teach it out, then someone still doesn't get it, and it's
like "come on!" it's right there before your eyes. Same thing with I
still catch my temper running a little short when I have been waiting to share
my thought and I start to share but they then just cut me off again and I don't
get to share my thought.
Yeah I don't know. It's a matter of finding
the balance of getting a salesman and engineer to work together. Basically
Elder Bennet (Elder Randall's trainer) had him the last couple weeks of
training doing just about everything and he would observe and make corrections
here or there. So Elder Randall has become very independent in being able to do
anything. So he has the attitude to go super fast with everything, like he is
just willing to take the phone and plow through making calls to everyone, or
just that independent kind of attitude. As well as having an attitude that if
someone tells him he can't do something, he will specifically go out and do it
(maybe not right there at that moment) just to prove a point. So we have
finally come to the point where we have talked and communicated more with each
other (he said he has always just been putting it off and forgetting about
things because he has that as well in his personality to be like
"whatever" and also feeling like he doesn't want to put too much on
me since he knows I work a lot against getting the doubts and worries away). So
it comes down to how do we go forward? How do we get a salesman and an engineer
to work together?
Want to know something funny? On Friday after
weekly planning the assistants (Elder Sumsion and Elder Vandiford) went on
power splits with us, Elder Vandiford with Elder Randall with me. Elder Randall
and Vandiford had contacted a guy when they were outside of the Carrefour. Then
Elder Sumsion and I over on the other side of Taiping contacted him where we
were working at. And....no he still rejected a second time, even though talking
with missionaries twice in one day.
Well I am glad in some way I was able to help
the Collings, by giving their kids some of my Legos.
As for our work right now it has the potential
to rise really good. We found 4 new investigators this past week. Except I am sad
about the one guy we met with once, shared about the message of the
Restoration, invited to be baptized (accepted for September 13), even followed
up with and he said he had been praying before bed, reading, and even praying
about Joseph Smith and such and said he believed; after all this he texted back
saying he is busier reading his books for driving test this week (this was last
Wednesday he said) as well as helping take care of some relative. He wasn't
exactly clear if he didn't want to meet or not. We texted him back with some
questions, but he didn't reply. He hasn't answered whenever we have called him.
This feels like the story of my mission. That I find really good people with
good potential, but then just ridiculousness happens and it all goes to whack.
I mean what do you do about this? I know everyone has their agency. But still,
COME ON! However, another investigator we have who has come to basketball
several times and has been taught the first and second lesson, finally sat down
again with him after basketball on Saturday, had a good discussion, fairly
direct, talking about the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and invited him again to be
baptized (he said no in the first lesson) and he accepted it this time. He
still had the reply if it is true then yes I will get baptized. So we have been
trying hard to follow up with him good. His phone was off last night, we sent
him a text, but he didn't reply. We are going to call him today to follow up.
But on another note, I talked with Elder
Oldham last Wednesday going to the temple and he told me that an investigator
in my last area is going to get baptized! I asked him what changed/happened.
When I left he was in a feeling of slowly doing everything, maybe one time at
church this month, and so on. Basically Elder Oldham said he got an answer. He
actually switched back from reading the children's Book of Mormon to reading
the regular Book of Mormon because you get more from it. He had come to church
like 4 times in a row. So he is getting baptized this week or next. Elder
Oldham said he already passed his baptismal interview.
Hmmmm.....other news, this week is our week 6
activity for English. So that is what I am heading up. We are going to watch
the hour long Restoration video in English with Chinese subtitles. Each of the
classes will have worksheets to fill out as they watch, according to their
English level. Then we are also making banana splits. So hopefully it should go
really well! We have been getting around close average of 95 people or so with
80 or so being potential to meet with missionaries and get baptized. So we
should be planning to add a lot of people this Wednesday to meet with us at
another time.
But yeah.....that is just about it! And of
course...................................................HAPPY
BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!! You old fart! You are really over the hill now! the big 50!
What are you going to do now?! You are old!!!
And yes I saw in your letter about the doctor
about not eating anything for 3 hours before bed. Well that is ok because the
mission has kind of kicked it out of me to not really eat much at night. I eat
dinner at like 5 but after that I don't really eat much. Main part is because I
am kicking back against the little bit of flab I have taken on. I even now have
come to making my own lunches and taking them out. PBJ, carrot, banana, apple,
and then usually water unless I want to buy a drink. It actually has gotten a
little twist in the stomach to think about eating the food outside because of
how much oil and such is used.
Well, that is about it actually. I keep at it
to work it harder, make it better, do it faster, to make me stronger! I love
you lots and miss the family all the time! It is crazy to think that I haven't
seen you all for now 1 year and a couple months (skype doesn't count!). Let me
know if there is anything I can do!
Elder Roo
