Lilies of the Field Sept 20, 2011

Hey you all, I love you, had to just say that.

 Thanks for all the letters this week, they really do mean a lot.

First to answer moms questions

My companions are Elder Stak and Ping. They are good guys, and we are getting along all right, but its hard to be in a threesome, and they are not 100 percent obedient, they take naps, and cheat on email time, or get up late and go to bed late. But I still like them both and they both are here for the right reasons.

No I don't have any native teachers anymore, but I listen on the computer 15 minutes a day.

I do see Justin around, and am glad for that. We often get in a little chat during a meal. I have not seen Ian, but I would freak out if I saw him, could you check and let me know when he gets here. I mean he is my future brother in law dui bu dui. My district is doing good all-around but we have some slower learners and some extremely fast learners. Elder ping is slow and Elder stark and I are fast. It makes it interesting, and I am sure hard for the teachers. I love Sundays, but for some odd reason they are the day's I feel most tiered. I generally watch talks or movie/Mormon messages on lds.org. Some good ones are come what may and love it, and Sunday will come.

Thanks for sending His Grace is Sufficient, I loved it. I think he was truly inspired. One prophet I believe said that true wisdom is taking something complicated, and simplifying it down so that even children can understand it, that is what he did with grace. I think an investigator would understand it.

In choir we are singing "Consider the lilies of the field" I enjoy it, and I loved the insight the director gave that he got from a primary kid.  In the parable of the 99 and the one lost sheep, we often focus on the one lost sheep, but what about the 99? He heard a primary girl give a talk where she said "there once was a shepherd who had 100 sheep, he started counting them, 1,2,3...37,38,39...77,78...98,99. The choir director never realized that he had to count and check up on each of his sheep before he went for the one lost one. I thought the shepherds more like”Tom Anne,  Bill, Joe, Claire, Elle,... I know tha’ts true that we are numbered and he takes care of those in his fold.

Spiritual insight of the week- Moroni 7 is about faith hope and charity, and I think that the cycle is hope leads to faith which leads to action which leads to charity, and the whole chapter ends in verse 48 where if we are true followers of Christ and we see chrism, we will then be given a hope to be like him. The cycle starts again, at the end. I loved it.  Eternal progression is real. 

 I am writing a poem I will send to you next week I hope.

Sept 13--MTC in the world but not of the world--so close but oh so far away

Hey you all,

It's crazy how in the world the MTC is but not of it. It’s crazy to think that most my family is just a mile or two away, but it is nice to know that my cheering for BYU and the Broncos made a difference last year. Sorry but you guys might be in for a rough couple of years in the sporting area. It was weird hearing that there are rebels in Libya and there was an earthquake and huge news like that from letters.  This last week was good. I really enjoy learning more of the gospel. I am excited to go out and share.

This last week was the ten year anniversary of Sept. 11th.  Did Obama give a speech? I didn't realize till half way through the day when I was on lds.org and saw that the MoTab was preforming a Sept. 11th memorial thing and I wondered how many days till then and looked at my watch and realized it was that day.   I wished I could watch it, along with the devotional by Elder Oaks that day but I knew I was busy. I felt bad not remembering this important day, how quick to forget we can be. Then later that day for the devotional Pres. Brown decided to commemorate Sept. 11th by showing us a youtube I believe called I am overcome, and then the MoTabs performance. It was great, I also got to watch some of the devotional that Elder Oaks gave, and finished it today. i figured maybe my family was doing the same. I loved that thought.

  Spiritual thoughts of the week are  in 3 Nephi 19:13 the spirit fell upon them. I thought that was interesting word usage because that generally is used for war. Yet I also thought maybe a blanket, or both because it cleanses the sin with fire, but comforts the person like a warm blanket. Any thoughts_

In Ether 6:7and8 it says That there were mountain waves that crashed upon them but the boat was tight like Noah’s that no sea monster could break it, and  in verse 8 it talks about how the wind never ceased to blow toward the promised land, and how long were they in the boats_ A year almost. I got from this that often out trials may seem like mountains in the way, and will come crashing down on you yet they will bring us toward heaven, and it may take longer then you thought but praise the lord as they did.

A few request:, what’s Ian Dacey’s, Andrew Gibb’s, and Ali’s address? Also can I get his grace is sufficient and the four missionaries talks? Lastly I am down to a 7:01 mile.

ps Brian the hymn book is small, and I can engrave it, any requests?

Love you all,

Elder Matt Sabey

The Worst of Times The Best of Times Sept 7 2011

Hey, sorry it's so late; I didn't have time ‘till now.

So this last week was crazy, as usual.  It was the worst and best yet, worst because my companion went home, and I miss him. We were close, and it was great. But still it was a week filled with spirit. We had President Holland give a speech on last Tuesday, which was amazing-and I will let you know about it in a letter. Then with my new companions my roommates again, Elder Ping and Stark, it was hard because they are not as hard working, or exactly obedient, but today I had a good experience with elder Ping- He said he never opens up emotionally to people, but today he wrote me a poem and at was beautiful, but told me he was struggling.  I think I may be in this companionship to help him. I read in Matthew 26 I believe that where two or more are gathered in my name there will I be also. This helped me to know why we are in companionships, because there Christ will be because we are always gathered together in his name.

I told you it was a spiritually uplifting week, let me just tell you some of my thoughts and experiences, In 3 Nephi when the people were going to kill those who believed on Christ because Samuels signs were not given yet they said "For behold your joy and your faith have been for nothing." I thought those were interesting things to make fun of because Joy comes from god and also Faith is a belief in things that are true. So by saying this they were almost bearing testimony of its truth, and then when the signs happened and Christ came forth, they fell to the earth and were sad because their "Great plan of destruction" was frustrated. I thought that was interesting compared to the "great plan of mercy, then I saw it, pre mortal life and war in heaven was written all over this story.

I have always wakened up at 6:30 but have not always got out of bed right away, but I have started to and I have had much more energy, I think it’s partly attitude partly blessing.

Pres. Brown talked on Sunday and he talked about being exactly obedient. It was powerful, but then the best part was that he did not want us to be a failure, and the thought came to me that "You are nothing but you are not a failure."

Then later on Sunday we had a devotional by Pres. Heaton who talked about how missionaries worry about how they are doing, and their communication with the investigator too much and not enough about the investigators communication with god. We are a means but not the way. 90% of the work is done by the lord. I remembered my father’s blessing and how I was told that I was nothing, and it's not me that converts. I have thought a lot about this this week and in district meeting today I was able to explain it. I also was given the gift of tongue in English. earlier this week when thinking on the topic I tried to remember who was the leader of that army that kept getting cut in half, to prove it's the lord not them, and in district meeting I remembered Gideon with no problem. I didn't look it up or anything. I bore my testimony that we were nothing; we were 19 year olds who get paid about as much as 16 year olds. We are like alma who was told he was boasting, he said "as for my strength I am nothing" but the lord is everything.  The story of Gideon and how he did it so we knew it was the lord. Now we are 19 year olds and are nothing, but our message is true and is everything, so we have so great a cause to go forth in.

Love you all

Elder Matt Sabey

Thoughts on why Christ is a serpent on the rod- any cool dual symbolism with Satan? 

How about with climbing a mountain how on the ground looking up we see a large area, and the going is easy, but there comes a point where you have to look down at the rock beneath your feet to progress, but then at the top you see a much fuller view then originally?

PS. Cubby no letter...

Matt's first week

Hey family,A few more things, then my week.

Ok so my week was crazy. The worst and hardest thing is my companion went home today. I don't know why, he didn't tell me anything, it is not how I hoped my first companionship would go. We have been going to interviews so I knew something was going on but he told me at 11 that he was going at 11:30, so I helped him pack and sent him off. It is so weird to me, he went to the temple with me today, and last night we were
all laughing. I just hope and believe I had nothing to do with it.   Tonight the branch will decided what to do.

Now on a more happy note, this week has been filled with tender mercies. Our "investigator" (the teacher next door) Pan Jisheng has started reading the Book of Mormon, and has committed to pray. I want to tell a story about our last lesson, I started off by asking if he loves his family, we knew the dad died so I promised him that through Christ's atonement,  families can be together forever. I asked how he felt when he read the Book of Mormon and he said he felt good, I told him that was the Holy Ghost. Then my companion taught the lesson where he tried to explain how to pray. We challenged him to pray and he said he didn't know how, so we gave him the instructions in Chinese, and told him this is how, he read it and we asked him if he could pray and he said yes, we bowed our head and closed our eyes, and he read the instructions as "the prayer." I realized and opened my eyes and he was laughing to himself. It was funny, so after word I tried to tell him that that was the instructions but I don't know the word for instructions, and the word "fangfa"-method --came to mind so I was able to explain that the instructions were the method of prayer, and then helped him pray. That was not the only time that I came to a stumbling block and the word I needed came to mind. I am also remembering words from high school that I forgot without putting in much work. The gift of tounges is real.

We had elder Bateman and president Brown give devotionals that were amazing, and I watched the Testaments, and I got to go to the temple today. I felt the spirit strongly in all of them. One was on faith, another baptism, and even though our temple time was at 6:30 so we had to get up early, when I entered The celestial room I felt the spirit strongly there. 

What's new at home? Anything you want me to write about?

I love you all and pray for you each night.

I think next week I will write down what I am going to say so that I can type a longer letter, sorry if this is short.

Elder Matt SAbey

Matt Aug 23, 2011--Carest Thou Not that we Perish

Hey guys so I wrote a letter but lost it, so I only have 20 minutes to write. I loved Mom's and dads letters.

My companions name is elder Verkler. He is awesome. He is nice, kind, a hard worker, and sings bass. We get along alright. We have started to run and do abs together during gym time. Then I go play b-ball and he does somethign else. I am getting better at ball, watch out Cubby.

My district is great, we all get along with each other, and I like everyone. They get easily distracted, but when we have district meetings it is easy to see they all have deep faith.

  My week has gone by fast. Here are the highlights. I loved my first TRC, however it was not with random people, not enough showed up, it was with my companion's older district. This was so fun to see why everyone is on a mission and to get to know them all with only speaking chinese. I was smiling the whole time. I am in chior and we are singing precious savior, which is such a cool song. I It is dynamically one huge wave, and it is about the savior calming the storms of life. I love the music, but also the directior, they both are funny but also give great spiritual insights.  I will be here for general conference so might be able to sing in it.   Wouldn't that be so cool.

  Our investigators are all progressing, and I love teaching them. I am getting almost off of notes for lessons. I am able to say what I want, and they understand. One asked if what we were saying is that before birth we knew our heavenly father, and I was able to respond by saying that a prophet said that after we die we will be shocked with how well we know him, except for the word shoked, but he said he understood. He truly understood our message. It's great.

 Spiritual thought for the week, I love the idea that we all have a time where we ask, "carest thou not that we perish?" If we have him in our vessel, He will answer, and we will not fear. For no ocean, spiritual  or physical can swollow the ship where lies the master of oceans and earth and skies. Also we all should want to be tools in God's hand, but you get to choose what tool you will be. I am  imaging Mother as a chello whose music envelops people, where as Bud Corkin is a hammer. I don't know, your thoughts?

Love you all

Matt

Matt Sabey's mission letters Aug 30, 2011

Hey if you get this before 4 can you send me the adress of the Condo?

Here are all my questions- No bee report? Are they all dead?, Also who is rachel staying with? What team did Cubby make? And I still have not got a response on thoughts from asher lev. I really thought it might help, but could hurt. I am intrested.

 

Ok so my week was great, best yet. I am doing better as syl, but still not great. Class is almost all syl, and I am learning maybe 25 words a day and one grammer rule. I need to work on characters. I got all the ones we worked on this summer down, is there a way to send the slides from chinese class with the pnumonics? That would be a huge help. We spend about two hours a day learning how to better teach, and we spend about one hour a day on the computer. This is some of my most effective time, I generally learn twenty new words for my lesson, or investigator taht I can use. I know all the vocab for lesson one two, and first two parts of three. Be fore I came here I knew the frist part of the frist discussion.I also review about 50 words, and listen to 15 minutes of talking and answer questions on what I heard to see how much I got all in one hour. I am getting better. Then I spend the rest the one hour of self supervised language study on createing pnumonics for the words I learned that day. It is kind of crazy that we really only have two hours a day set apart for learning new words, but how much we still grow. We also have one hour a day where the teacher "coaches" study, and we can study language or do personal study or companion. Other then those two hours I syl, use a little notebooke where I keep all my pnumonics and vocab. I pick up some, we have one hour of grammer, and then we teach 2 investigators each day, but I just lost both my teachers due to BYU starting, so now we have no native teachers. Sad.

 

So my companion is having interviews with the stake president just like my old one did, I certainly hope he stays. Please pray for him, his name is elder verkler. I have no idea what the interviews are about, but We are haveing a great time together. We are used to eachother and have a similar sence of humor, so we laugh alot together. We run together, I was so slow at first, we originally did like an 8 minute mile, but then I cut 20 the next time, and twenty again the next time, so yesterday I ran a 7:20 minuse mile, I am excited for a sub 7 hopefully this week. we also do abs together. its just nice having a friend as a companion, and I think he wrote home about how he likes me as my next story will tell.

 

Stories of the week- So my companions girl friend sent him a package, but in the package was a preasent all wraped for me. The note said from what she heard I am a great guy and would like to meet me. It was a nice tie. My companion said she never gave him a tie. Awkward. But not really, she writes him almost every day, and has sent him much more then ties. But it was fun to joke about. I felt bad because I carried the package and her name is hannah spelled hanne, and I asked him "Who is hane?" Then she gaave me a tie. I really like it to.