Dear Family,
Sometimes it feels so surreal that I am a missionary
in Cambodia, that now even if I can't follow everything a member says I
can get up in the morning and the first words out of my mouth are
Vietnamese. That when I get on my bike and I am praying for members I
can only pray for them in Vietnamese. This last week I struggled
understanding members and not letting myself get overwhelmed because I
couldn't say everything I wanted to and of course I know I have such a
long way to go, but when I look at the fact I am speaking Vietnamese
better than any other language I have learned (that's three by the way) I
realize how much the Lord is helping me and how far I have come. I am
thankful for the Lord's help and blessings in my life. I am thankful
for His tender mercies, like having people send me letters or emails
that covered just my concerns or not sending things when I really want
them, but instead when I need them :-).
Everyday I have the opportunity to meet members and hopeful
investigators and share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with them, what a
wonderful blessing. Last night we visited a referral, who after meeting
with her the first time we found out was actually a less active whose
records had gotten lost, at first she didn't want anything to do we us.
But after multiple visits she finally let us in. As I sat in shock at
the fact I was actually sitting on her floor I realized neither Chi Pham
or I knew what we wanted to say, but Heavenly Father knew what he
wanted to say. As I prayed to know he told me to share with her that He
loves her, that the Gospel he sent into her life is true that Joseph
Smith is the Prophet of the Restoration. But mainly He told her that He
wants her back, that it doesn't matter how far she goes or how long she
stays away Heavenly Father always, always wants her back.
The members here scare me, most of the time, they have so many
grudges and have forgotten, if they ever knew, that this is a Gospel of
love. I love meeting with the members individually, however, whether
Chi Khia, a woman with a young family who made roast chicken for us and
put food into bowl for me or Ba Tu who made an awesome pair of pajamas
for me (those pictures are still to come, but my computer is struggling
at the moment) or Anh Vu who laughs at my Vietnamese, but knows exactly
what I want to say. These people are so amazing, loving and caring,
they just forget it sometimes when they get in large groups. But in the
coming weeks Chi Pham and I will have the opportunity to share with
them God's love for them individually and as a branch. The more I
ponder and learn about the atonement the more I realize, more people
will be in the Celestial Kingdom then I ever realized. We will all be
there because Heavenly Father loves us so much. There is so much to
overcome in this life, and the Atonement is here simply to help us live
life with a bit less sorrow. I learned that yesterday. Yes we need to
use the Atonement to become what He wants us to be and yes we need to
keep our covenants and the commandments, but sometimes we forget the
simple message of the Atonement is that we are not alone and that we
have someone to bear our sorrows and our burdens. I testify that our
Savior is the perfect redeemer he knows what we need when we need it and
he is always there to lift us up and invite us back to live with our
Father.
I know my Heavenly Father loves me, that my Savior lives and that
Jesus is the Christ. May we all trust our Savior with our grudges, our
burdens, our worries and our fears. For when we can give those up, He
has so much joy to share with us.
May we all feel that joy is my hope
and prayer,
Chi Dao
P.S Congratulations to Natalie, I am so proud of you and so very excited!
And Dad I'm glad you like the idea, now I have another wonderful thing to look forward to!
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