recently I have been reading from Parley P. Pratt's autobiography. I especially liked a part when he said he went on a mission to New York. He worked as hard as he could for 6 whole months in New York City, preaching, printing, proselyting, and absolutely nobody listened. I had always thought he just immediately had success.
They gave up on New York, and were having a last prayer meeting before they would head to New Orleans, and as they all started to pray, the spirit was manifest, and they began to prophesy about the work that would happen in New York. So they stayed, and then started healing people, preaching, and baptizing on almost a daily basis.
Well, that's just how missionary work is sometimes. We work as hard as we can, and then success only comes when the Lord decides to help us.
Recently it feels like we just have a bunch of old investigators that aren't progressing that we need to cross off, and go find a bunch of new ones. Or else pray really hard and have a bunch of miracles or something.
Our one investigator that is progressing real good is Gao Dixiong. We've been talking to him about his problems more closely, and we've determined that he has a psychological problem of serious paranoia. He comes up with a complex web of dilusions, that are completely crazy, but he believes and is really worried about. It's really sad actually. Because except for these dilusions, he's a wonderful man, and really prepared to join the church. We met with him, and he said he'd been reading the Book of Mormon, and felt like he needed to be baptized. We're hesitant though, because the bishop is really worried about baptizing him. If he joins the church, and then church members and priesthood leaders become part of some of his dilusions, then problems could happen. So we're working closely with ward and mission leaders with him. I sure do hope he'll be able to be baptized. I'll let you know what happens next week, because he has his first baptismal interview tuesday, and then he'll have a second sometime later in the week. So maybe pray for Brother Gao Xu Dong.
Right now is the most annoying time of year that I could have ever imagined. It's Chinese new year. And I feel like I could strangle the next person that tells me about chinese new year.
Chinese new year is a great holiday. I'm super excited, It should have lots of good food and opportunities.
But for about the last three weeks, people have started to refuse to set up times to meet with the missionaries. And I can tell them exactly what they are going to say word for word before they even say it. It translates into. "Impossible, I have no time. Don't you know Chinese New Year is coming? You know Chinese New Year right? So for this little while I will be really busy."
I guess I shouldn't be negative, it's part of their culture to be really busy around guo nian. But it's no good for a missionary trying to baptize people.
I've had a little bit of a cold lately. So I went to the pharmacy. Originally the cold was just an excuse, because the pharmacy is run by the non-member husband of the young womens' president in our ward. We went in and talked to him, and then when I told him I had a cold, he insisted on giving me a bunch of medicine for free. He filled up two big bottles of thick brown cough syrup that looks like it could poison a cow, and then some tablets of medicine. I asked if the medicine would make me drowsy, and he said that it wouldn't, but would make me really "excited!" hahaha. You never know what you're going to get in taiwan. The cough syrup and medicine work pretty well though.
I got a flu shot a couple weeks before, we walked to a random clinic off the street, and asked them if they could give us a flu shot. One nurse said no, one said yes. the one that said yes took us back to a room and gave us a shot, and then we paid 3 dollars. In and out in less than 10 minutes for 3 dollars. No paperwork or signatures or waiting. It might be a little bit sketchy but so far I think the taiwanese health care system is pretty convenient. Hopefully she gave us the right shot...
Last night we had a good fireside at the church. I played a violin number. The sister in my district just happens to play the piano really good. Yay.
That's about all for the week.
I think I'm going to go home and just read Parley P. Pratt for a while.
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