On Saturday we attended a baptismal meeting at the Chermside chapel with one of our two most progressing investigators. She enjoyed it, and asked us afterwards about are testimonies and personal experiences of conversion. Slowly, but surely, she is changing. At first, she neither prayed nor read the Book of Mormon, but she has started to do both regularly. It's always exciting to see how someone changes as they make and keep commitments and desire to find out the truth. She in particular has come a very long way -- I recall one of the first lessons with her, it was simply a logical debate on the existence of God, and then the lesson was a philosophical discussion on the nature of God, then finally on the character of God. Each time, miraculously, we manage to answer her questions.
Our other progressing investigator has stalled a little bit -- her family situation is terrible, partly as a result of the actions of people who call themselves Christians, which has tainted her view of Christianity as a whole. She wrote a letter to us once (she felt more comfortable writing than speaking because english isn't her native language) describing her feelings about Christianity as a establishment in western culture used to exploit others. I wrote back hoping to explain that we agree with her, that "Christianity" is full of people who use religion to justify their selfish views just like any other religion, and we do not ask her to accept "Christianity" but to accept Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ's teachings of love and obedience are very different what many "Christians" practice. I hope that my letter will help her desire to give study of the gospel at least one more chance.
On Sunday, several interesting things happened. Our family finally went to EMP ward! We talked to members and missionaries there afterwords, it went over well save for the usual challenges with the oldest son.
There were two new investigators at church today. One came by themself (they tried to come last week but since the 1:00 pm meetings were canceled because of the YSA mini-convention activity held in NSW they went to Camp Hill ward) and the other, from Peru, was invited by a member. Both are eager to learn about the gospel.
I had a good conversation with the latter during Priesthood meeting about the Book of Mormon, which one of the members had given to him but hadn't yet explained to him what it was. The priesthood lesson was about temples, so I first explained to him what they were. He then asked about the golden statue on the temple in the picture and I explained to him about Moroni and the Book of Mormon. I was reminded of Brother Gomez, one of my sunday school teachers growing up in Georgia. He played baseball for the Atlanta Braves. He told us the story of how Dale Murphy, his teammate -- and a member of the Church -- handed him a Book of Mormon while on the plane one day and told him that it was about his ancestors.
Last Tuesday after english class we watched the Testaments in Chinese with several of our investigators (this, by the way, is when I first started to notice a change of heart in the first progressing investigator I mentioned). A member from Taiwan had invited some of her friends, and one of them told her after the movie that she had felt something special while watching it. Hopefully after english class tomorrow we will have the opportunity to discuss that more.
Lastly, my recent convert departed for China for the winter holiday. He will return mid-july. Two days before he left, he invited us to his house for dinner.
Hopefully this week will pick up in terms of lessons and investigators. And baptismal dates!
保重!
Elder J. Colton Ladd
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