Jilong Area Expands and Gets New Set of Sisters

Nobody wrote me this week.  I'm still in Jilong with the same companion.  However, there are two extra sisters this transfer and so they decided to put them in Jilong.  Now our area is getting split in half.  It really grew a lot since I first got here with no investigators that could progress, because the only ones willing to progress have parents opposing baptism problems and need to wait 2-4 more years to get baptized, and no people to meet with, so like 10 lessons a week..and it was quite a task to get that...to quite a few people with dates and we had 23 lessons last week.  So this area can handle two more sisters.  It should be a lot of fun to have Sister Phillips who goes home, and her trainee, who is a native Taiwanese, Sister Chen Shuting with us in our apartment.  Sisters are so spread out, it's rare to see other sisters except at zone conference and stuff, now we are the only sisters in the same zone in the entire mission according to my understanding.  How exciting.  President said he knows they are supposed to be here, and I know he is an inspired man, so I'm sure this is going to be super great for our area and we will see many miracles.

This is a great and marvelous work.  This work and church is true, and it is the only path whereby we can receive salvation.  Satan also exists and his path is not one of happiness.  He leads people to deny basic doctrine such as that there could be another truth, that families are not eternal, that God is a changing God.   People become selfish and self-serving when they follow his clutches. As a great man once said, beware of pride.  I have really seen how pride destroys every good thing.  Don't forget, God is an unchanging God, only through sacrificing yourself and creating a home of prayer, learning, and love, only through following the one true path and putting off the natural man will you be saved in the kingdom of God.  I hope you can create a home that can be a safe haven.  I remember when Thomas S. Monson was called as prophet, he said that would be his focus, to have members create a home where kids could go to escape the clutches of Satan found in this world, to that safe haven.  I don't remember his exact words, but that was his concept.

I have learned a lot from our favorite investigator right now.  Her name is Lin Lizhen.  She has 2 boys.  She also has a husband...but her husband comes home very rarely.  He decided he liked another woman.  He went out and sought worldly things.  Sister Lin loves her husband.  She prays for him to come home.  She said she used to freak out a lot and call him every day, but since meeting us she said she feels more peace.  She doesn't call him anymore.  When I heard her story, I thought...Zenme keneng?  How is that possible?  After all her husband did and she prays for him to return.  It's like the prodigals son. There is so much hurt and suffering these people caused, and yet, there are people willing to take them back and love them no matter what.  I'm not yet that loving.  Maybe one day, but I don't like the hurt these people cause.  My inital thoughts are usually that I hope their repentance process hurts like....I really do.  Because they are cruel with the way they mess people up...but lucky them!  Heavenly Father will forgive them, and others, who have figured out the gospel better than I have quite yet are ready to receive them with open arms.  How blessed we are to have such a loving Heavenly Father. I can't even fathom that kind of love, but I've felt it, and it's pretty amazing of a feeling.

Hope you are all well, love you guys!  Don't forget to write me by next Wednesday, everyone owes me a letter, especially since i have NONE this week.  I have a hard time writing when nobody else writes me.  It makes me not want to write, but I do anyways because it's a rule.  I'd rather want to do it!  So yeah.  Until next week!

Sister Bruno