(Elder Cummings)
MTC. Done.
An update on the zoom calls Liang and I were able to have
with some native Taiwanese people:
Penny and George are SO awesome! They're the couple that are
interested in the church and were willing to practice Chinese with us. They
hadn't met with the missionaries yet when we met them so that was stressful. I
wasn't even stressed that much about them not being able to understand me(not
because my Chinese is that good but because they're pretty dang good in
English). I was the most worried about the impression we would leave on them, I
wanted their experience with us to be memorable and encourage them to look more
into the church. Liang and I said a very sincere prayer together beforehand and
a couple minutes later we were talking to two natives(one from Mainland China
and the other from Taiwan). My stellar companion quickly was able to turn it
into a gospel discussion as we discussed all of our beliefs and all of our
religious backgrounds and desires. Time FLEW. In about 30 minutes I think Liang
and I both bore some kind of testimony about 5 times each. They had amazing
questions for us and through the Holy Ghost our answers seemed to touch their
hearts. It was a miracle, it really was.
Meeting with Kevin was also a ton of fun. He was a coworker
of my dad's when we lived in New Jersey and he's so funny and happy. We didn't
have as much as a spiritual discussion with him but we discussed temples and
why we have them. I also invited him that if he ever saw missionaries to say hi
and talk with them. I told him I am so nervous to serve a mission, that many of
them will be too, and that just talking with them and being kind will make
their day and give them an opportunity to do their job as missionaries.(I
didn'ts say it quite that eloquently, it was all in Mandarin, but he said he
would!) Again an amazing opportunity to practice Mandarin while being able to
talk with people about our church and our Savior Jesus Christ. These
opportunities would not have been possible if we weren't having home MTC and
for that I am grateful.
Like I said, the MTC is done. I love my district and my
teachers but boy am I excited to go out into the field. This week was a ton of
fun and I learned a lot from my teachers as we had chances to just ask them
advice and questions about the mission and life in general. Who would've
thought I could rely on college students in their early 20's to give me some
life advice? That's what the mission does for you, and it's awesome.
Unrelated note: This week I decided with my good friend Ryan
that when we get back and start attending BYU, we're gonna host breakfast taco
Saturdays at our place, we're gonna go hiking and backpacking all the time,
we're gonna be EMT's, and we're gonna have a pet ape who we're gonna teach sign
language(yes he will help cook the tacos and drive the ambulance, but we're
gonna teach him piano too so on Taco Saturday's he can please all in attendance
with his melodic tunes) Good thing I don't have to worry about figuring the ape
paperwork for another 2 years though, that'll be a nightmare.
Spiritual thought: After Christ's visitation to the
America's, recorded in the Book of Mormon, in 4 Nephi 1:17 it says "There
were...[not] any manner of -ites; but there were in one, the children of
Christ, and heirs to the kingdom of God". Earlier this week my Papa asked
my family how the Nephites did it and how we can do it in this time. He cited
verse 15 of the same chapter, "there was no contention in the land,
because of the love of God which did dwell in the hearts of the people".
So we learn that we need the love of God in our hearts, but how do we do that?
I joked and said that the Nephites needed Christ to come to fix it, we'll have
to wait for the Second Coming. However, as I discussed this with my good friend
Ryan, his thoughts particularly struck me. I'll paraphrase and add some of my
own thoughts:
While it is good and important to apply principles and
lessons from scriptures to society and how we can be a better people we are
also taught to "liken them unto ourselves". In the Book of Mormon,
the risen Christ literally visited the Americas, established His church in the
Americas as well as in the Holy Lands, and taught and gave authority to people.
After his visitation is where we read that there was no contention and
everyone's hearts were softened to each other. There was great peace for many
many years. While we should learn how to apply this to our society where there
is so much hate, prejudice, pride, jealousy and more, the answer comes from
applying the principles to ourselves. "... the love of God which did dwell
in the hearts of the people". No one can force you to take something to
heart. It is an individual choice, one we have to make just like these people
had to choose to have the love of God continually in their hearts. While Christ
has not literally visited us in our lives, we all need to choose to have Christ
come into our lives, into our hearts. We need to have Christ come into our
hearts and make a change that He made caused in the Nephites. It is a personal
conversion. We are already made equal.if we want to be treated equal, it starts
with having Christ come into our hearts and planting the love of God. So allow
that to happen. Allow yourself to make room for God's love. That love will work
in you and change you as it did the Nephites. I strongly believe it will and
say that in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
PS There won't be another email next week! I don't leave for
Baton Rouge until the 29th so there won't be much to talk about next week. But
feel free to email me! I want to hear from y'all!
FOTOS:
1.
the last view from the MTC, pretty cool huh?
2.
First 10 minutes of Elder Liang and I meeting
the other Mandarin Speaking district...(they came eventually don't worry)
3.
quick reunion with some of the best teachers
ever! @mailaoshi @helaoshi
4.
Ready to go..
PPS. The ape is a joke don't worry(hopefully it's not a joke
though, who else would play soul-searching melodies while we cook up some
scrumptious tacos?)
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