July 23, 2012
First 2 things I need to tell you, I hear that Romney is
running for president and for some reason the church is encouraging
missionaries to vote so I would love a mail-in ballot, if you can send me one.
Also Mom I ran into a man named Rice Banks who ended his mission in 81 and said
they have a Facebook page you could join called "Powelson Taibei" if
you want to join. I don't know if he was your mission president or not.
I am so happy to be here. Li Zheng Ru passed his
baptismal interview so Saturday we will be having his baptismal service. I am
so excited; he is such a great guy. This week went well. We got a lot of new
investigators, and almost all set a baptismal date which is exactly what this area
needed, I was so happy help find and teach them. I am a little tired now so
sorry if my email doesn't make sense. Well this week’s miracles were good. On
Saturday it was weird we saw some great miracles along with some
disappointments. The disappointments were that Huang Jiemei said she didn't
want to keep studying because something happened at home. I think her boyfriend
and she got in a fight probably. I was devastated. Also that day 3 people I set
up and who confirmed the day before about appointments today, stood us up. I
was very frustrated. But that day Li Zheng Ru passed his baptismal interview
and we went to a planned area that was not a really effective place to knock
doors and ran into a new Investigator from last week who hadn't answered the phone
since our first meeting and it turned out he thought our phone was someone
else’s who he didn't want to talk to. So he set up and has answered his phone.
This miracle is a literal miracle. Our area has so many people so we went to a
and had been to in the past, and lo and behold we run into someone we had been
trying to contact. That is a miracle because we planned by the spirit. Then
that night when tracting we found someone who let us in and became a new
investigator. Always a miracle. That day was up and down but I know that all
things were done in the wisdom of god and that he gave us such great miracles
so we could better deal with our disappointments.
Anyways random
report, this week I ate a crazy cake
made our of flour but felt like cheese on the outside but inside was extremely
dry, and of course the middle had red beans. I also drank purple yam juice.
Both very interesting, and overall good.
Spiritual
thought: This week I read Lehi’s vission and noticed a parallel to the Brother
of Jared. In the vision at the start Lehi does as the Angle commands him and
finds himself in Darkness/lost. Like the Brother of Jared who follows all the
commands and finds that his ships have no light to cross the great waters. They
both do the same thing to get out of this darkness...Pray. Prayer is so
important and when we pray like Joseph Smith in the first vision, we can be
delivered from darkness. Obviously in all three of these examples they meant
what they said when they pleaded for the light. Prayer is so important. I don't
know if this is doctrine but it seems that even if we do all god commands and
don't pray we will still find ourselves in darkness. If we pray we will be
partakers of the love of god, the light of Christ and come to know God
personally.
Some about my
companion. He is a convert to the church, his Mother is still not a member, he
hopes to baptize her when he goes home. He is funny and loves to talk. He is a
fun companion who never complains and is very humble. My new mission president is much more
relaxed. He Gwants to be more involved with us than President Grimly did. He
seems like a nice loving man who sues other attorneys for mal-practice. He is
different then President Grimley and I love them both.
Here is my letter
to president:
Hey President,
I am so glad to inform you Li Zheng Ru passed his
baptismal interview! Saturday we will be having his baptismal service. Life is
so great. He is so great and I feel certain he is prepared for baptism. God has
prepared him.
This week went well
we found a lot of new investigators and a lot set baptismal dates so that was
nice and just what our area needed. I am glad you want us to call you when we
have someone commit to a date. Sorry we forgot sometimes to call.
I had a good week
full of miracles.
Love Elder Sabey
Aug.
1, 2012
I am so happy that Li Dixiong got baptized. It was
definitely the highlight of the week. I love how mom said families have their
own strengths and weaknesses; Li Dixiong's family has some serious weaknesses.
His mother and father gave him to his grandparents when he was young, and he
recently found out he had an older brother. So it hit me that now he has joined
a much more stable family, the AnKang branch family. I love how we call each
other brother and sister. It is so cool the first time you ask an investigator
to call them brother or sister they almost always say yes and when you actually
do it the first time they almost always smile. I am so grateful for this gospel
family. It provides a stable environment we can rely on in our time of need and
help others in theirs.
The next
highlight was we had a specialized training meeting where President Day gave a
great lesson on the Anti-Nephi Lehis, and how we are going to be like them. We
will not be known as Missionaries but the Taiwan Taipei Missionaries, we need
to lay down our weapons of rebellion and bury them deeply and be determined to
rather face death then go and bury them back up. He had us write down our
weapons of rebellion on a paper then go home and tear the paper up and bury it
in the trash and be determined never to pick them back up. It was humbling
writing down the weapons of rebellion but tearing them up felt so good and I am
trying my best not to dig them back up, and for some I am digging the whole in
hard ground and it is a slow possess but I am working on it.
My last cool
experience was my companion and I were invited to share a 10 minute message at
a ward fireside and in the morning we practiced it twice and the second time
felt good but I was still nervous, but I prayed and went forth and opened my
mouth and it just flowed. I didn't stumble and mess up with the grammar, I knew
what to say and me and my companion had great unity and it was a powerful 10
minutes. We shared on the importance of member missionary work, used PMG president
Hinckley’s quote on pg 160, and 3 Nephi 19 1-2, and committed the ward to give
us referrals, after which a returned missionary came up to us and asked if on
Monday we could visit her less active mother who was living with her boyfriend.
It felt good that she trusted us.
Here is my email to president
Hey president,
This week was great, Li Zheng Ru got baptized and
confirmed. I was/am so happy. He said that when he was about to be baptized he
was nervous but as he was baptized he felt a comfortable feeling like a shower
but even more comfortable and unique like he’s never felt before. I love him
and am so excited for his bright future. He has not had the easiest life but he
has made good choices and through his trials god prepared him for baptism. He
now has a stable family to rely on in Heavenly Father and Christ in heaven and
An-Kang Branch on earth. This week was focused on the baptism and so I felt
finding went down a little, and we didn't get anyone to church which made me
sad because I don't want to be the companionship who stops the mission from
every companionship having an investigator at church. Next week it won’t happen
again.
I also wanted to
thank you for the specialized training, I have been trying to be living because
of the principles behind the rules and I felt good about it. Also the feeling
of tearing up and burying my weapons of rebellion felt great. I will try my
best to not dig them up again.
Thanks for everything,
Elder Sabey
I love being able
to help others come unto Christ.
Elder Sabey
August 6, 2012
So this week was
cool, it has rained every day, and Tuesday thru Thursday it rained all day, but
Thursday was a typhoon day. So we were not permitted to go outside, which I
thought I might as well enjoy and seemed like it would be fun. It was not.
Although having time to cook a beef stroganoff with noodles from scratch (which
tasted great), and time to clean and call people to our hearts content, and do
WPS, by 4:00 p.m. I had some cabin fever. I couldn't stand staying in a small
apartment for such a long time. So basically I appreciate the blessing of
working outside. The typhoon was pretty serious, there was a lot flooding and
when I went over a park bridge, I could see the river had become giant and it
destroyed much of the shrubbery and lamp posts, etc. In the apartment it seemed
hiahao (O.K.) but the park showed me why it was necessary to be inside.
A cool miracle
was Wednesday night: we had to go home because of the hurricane (not the
miracle) but before going home we had planned tracting a place for an hour or
so and when we had tracked every door, we still had some time so I thought of a
place I had never tracked before. When I got there, I felt I might as well
start at the furthest away point and work my way forward and so we road our
bikes to the furthest point in that area and started tracting and the 2nd door
I knocked on let us in, learned and committed to prayer and set a baptismal
date. It was totally amazing. The second time that has happened in AnKang. This
week I told someone, “I know god exists.”
He asked "Well have you seen miracles?" and I honestly told
him "yes, every day I see miracles." He was shocked, and asked me to
tell him some and I did. I felt my testimony strengthened but sadly he didn't set
up a return appointment. But I feel I will remember that experience, looking in
his eyes and saying I see miracles daily. Some other miracles this week: Twice
when riding on a road we rarely road on or were on for a weird reason, an
investigator (Brother Chen and Sistser QI ) honked at us and pulled us over and
talked to us for a bit. It was so great. I love that they stopped us, it wasn't
us stopping them.
I really know
that god is directing this work and preparing people. It is so amazing and also
so simple. When you meet a prepared person and say read, pray and come to
church, they will be baptized because god will answer their prayers and they
will receive a testimony and many blessings along with it. I feel that these
three things are so important. Also that praying about the truth of the Book of
Mormon is important to, because you need to give god a chance to answer your
prayers. So I would invite all of you to pray about the truth of the Book of
Mormon and again from god receive an answer.
Spiritual
thought: In 1 Nephi 19:2 Nephi sees how miraculous it is that their wives were
able be bare children in the wilderness and give plenty of suck for their
children while surviving off of raw meat. A true miracle. Then later Laman and
Lemuel complain about how their wives had suffered so many afflictions and they
could have been partying in Jerusalem with plenty of money and land, and they
could have been happy. As if money and land brings happiness. I believe that no
matter what happened they would be miserable because they choose not to see the
obvious miracles god gave them. Later they even receive the promised land! I hope we all have the eye to see miracles in
our lives, that god gives us. The obvious and less obvious ones and I know if
we do so we will truly be happier.
Love you all
Elder Sabey
Letter to president
Hey president
This week was good but a little harder, mostly due to the
hurricane. It's been fun recently finding a ton of new investigators but they
all seem to meet, set a baptismal date, set up a time then cancel because they
are busy and won't commit to another time. I believe we have around 8
investigators who have a date but haven't meet a second time. I don't know what
to do, I just keep calling them. Any advice?
Elder Sabey
August 13, 2012
An amazing last week in AnKang, I will miss it. But I worked my tail off here and I believe I
have left the ward better than when I got here, which is a way president
Holland says we can measure our success, according to Elder Wilson of the 70
who came and visited our mission this week and gave a small talk. So I feel
good. I loved this area, the people,
investigators and this last week was full of great experiences with them. I
told you about Huang Jiemei, but I never told you she stopped meeting with us
for the past 4 weeks which was heart breaking, and she wouldn't answer our
calls, but this week she called back, which gave me hope for her and her
future. This week I got to attend Zhou Ba's wedding lunch and there meet a
former investigator who hasn't been meeting with us for a month but said he now
has more time to meet. It was also great to support Zhou Ba because he helps
the missionaries a lot and it is so great that at age 50+ he can find a good
wife. I love it, not to mention the food.
mmmmmmmm. Then we visited an investigator I tracked into and he said he
believes and is willing to give his all to prepare to be baptized, and he bought
me a nice pen to use as a parting gift. Li Dixiong, my recent convert, bought
me a sticky note pad as a parting gift, and sat by me at church which was
great. Qi Jiemei had me over for dinner yesterday to say good bye. It felt good
that they all cared enough about me to do something special because I was
leaving but in ways it just made it harder. I love this place and expect/ hope
to love Beitou, I hear that it only has 4 investigators so I will have another
chance to really make a difference and am looking forward to the challenge.
Spiritual thought-
Jacob 4 :10 Don't
tell the lord what to do but do what he tells you and you will be happy.
Here’s my letter to president,
Hey President,
I had a great last week in AnKang and am excited for
Beitou. I always wonder why the lord wants me in the area he has called me to
and with the companion he has called me to be with. I guess I will go and find
out, but if you have any insight I would love to know. I am so excited that I
get another Bendi companion, this last transfer my Chinese really improved, and
I am looking forward to more.
This week I saw
some amazing miracles. Once in front of the library, (AnKang's unofficial
chapel because the chapel is out of our district) I meet a guy and shared with
him the restoration, and set him up, then contacted two high school graduates
who sat and we taught them a lesson. As it turns out one of their fathers is a
LA who hasn't been to church for 5 years, but this student remembers going to
church and the feeling she had there and set up with the sisters here. Both of
these set ups went through and went well. Often I find that when we go to a
place we go for one lost sheep, but it felt great to find two back to back.
I am loving the
mission and this area and am excited for a new area and new friends.
Thanks for
everything.
Elder Sabey
Well love you all
Elder Sabey
Aug. 21, 2012
Is it Brain’s
26th or 27th birthday?
So it is August 20th here so I am celebrating brains
birthday today. I already wrote a letter but sent it to the BYU address, so I
hope he gets it.
So this week was great, full of miracles and fun stuff
but still a little hard because I miss my investigators in An-Kang. But the
good thing is this is where God wants me and I am having a lot of success here.
The week before I moved I asked my "to be companion" what Beitou was
like and he said it was hard because finding here is hard and there are only 4
investigators. But this last week we found 5 new investigators and they
actually had 6 investigators already. This Sunday we had 9 investigators come
to church. So yeah, God is blessing us and this area.
Some favorite
miracles:
One day my companion felt we should go to a faraway place
because our area is huge and we should try and visit everyone. So we went and
at that place I meet a Ye Jiemei (sister) who set up for Saturday and came to
church. She was so great. At the same place my companion met another person who
also set up for Sunday night fireside. SO a cool planning miracle.
Another was once
while walking I said hi to a girl and stuck out my hand to shake hers but she
was a little startled and just walked by me so my companion said hi to her and
talked with her for a long time and set her up. During this time I found an
amazing family, who set up for church but couldn't make it because family came
to visit but are set up for Tuesday. So pretty much god loves us.
Then yesterday we
got to go to Micheal Mcleans fireside and this Saturday we get to go to his
concert. I am so excited. He was totally kuazhang (over the top) hilarious but
his music was great and my investigator
and companion and I all felt the spirit.
So about Beitou
and my companion-
Beitou- it is a tourist area, famous for its hot
springs,( this p-days plan..... JK) so half the people you meet are tourists,
but most of them are from Taiwan. It is a beautiful and fun place. The ward
seems great and life is good.
My companion is a
really good with people person, when he just got here the ward rarely gave
missionaries stuff, now they give us a lot of fruit and food.
So he is a powerful servant who has seen many baptisms.
But he is a little more relaxed with rules and has many preferences and personal
opinions that are different than most missionaries so it is different but
should be good.
I love you all
Elder Sabey
Letter to president
Hey President,
It was great to see you last night and I am glad you can
attend our ward missionary fireside.
This week was great,
we saw many miracles, some favorite miracles:
One day my
companion felt we should go to a far away place because our area is huge and we
should try and visit everyone. So we went and at that place I meet a Ye Jiemei
who set up for Saturday and came to church. She was so great. At the same place
my companion meet another person who also set up for Sunday night fireside. SO
a cool planning miracle.
Another was once
while walking I said hi to a girl and stuck out my hand to shake hers but she
was a little startled and just walked by me so my companion said hi to her and
talked with her for a long time and set her up. During this time I found an
amazing family, who set up for church but couldn't make it because family came
to visit but are set up for Tuesday. So pretty much I have felt that God loves us.
I am so excited
for this transfer and to see the miracles that await. Beitou is a great place,
and the ward is great and my companion is also great so I am happy. I hope to
be able to help this area to get a new generation of investigators/ recent
converts. AKA baptize the investigators here and fill their places on the board
with new names, because most of our investigators have nearly heard all the
lessons, and are great investigators with a few different challenges to
overcome, but no challenge is too great for god so I believe it will happen.
Thanks for the
work you do and the love you show,
Elder Sabey
August 28, 2012
Hey All,
Love you and
thanks for your support and prayers. TO
answer your questions
How is your
companionship doing? It is the 2nd hardest companionship I have had. I feel
that my companion thinks I am a burden, and doesn't trust me. He also has his
own way of doing things and isn't open to my ideas, but he is still fun to talk
to and a very effective missionary.
Is he too disobedient that he makes you uncomfortable?
Only sometimes but most the time we are obedient.
What language do you speak together? Most often it is
Chinese.
How are you feeling about your Zhongwen (Chinese)? These
last 2 transfers have helped my Chinese because I got to be with a Taiwanese
companion, but my Chinese is nothing amazing, I would say it is probably
average among the missionaries. So I am happy, but I still haven't had a
Chinese dream which is my goal.
So this week was
interesting but full of miracles. We had 10 investigators who came to church,
which was crazy. We also had like 4 investigators set a baptismal date this
week, so now we have many investigators and they all seem to be sincerely
looking for the truth so this transfer will be good as long as I love them.
This week we also got to attend a Michael McKlean concert that was funny and
spiritual at the same time, with 2 investigators. During the concert Michael
asked us to ask god if he actually loves us, and an eternal investigator asked
and she felt he loved her and started crying and set a baptismal date and gave
us a referral, so it was pretty much
awesome. Also there was a great song called, “Safe Shores” that made me cry and
another that told me that the trials we go through won't last forever, which
was a great reminder. On Saturday morning we also got to attend a baptismal
service of a person my companion found on the street which was great. I love
being on the Lord’s errand.
Dear President,
This week was full of miracles again. I truly stand all
amazed. This week was a little harder than last week though, this companionship
is a little hard for me and probably for Elder Wang too. I feel that my
companion has his own way of doing things and isn't open to my ideas, and he
thinks I am a burden, and doesn't trust me or love me which is hard. For
example on Sunday he didn't want me to teach with him because there were
already 6 people going to be there but I had no one else to teach, so I went
and got more familiar with the members until they left and then waited outside
the door with it cracked open so I could see and hear him. But I know a
companionship is a two way relationship and I can't say I love my companion as
much as I should either. I am trying to compliment him every day and praying
for him and praying for love. I want to know if you have any suggestions. But
we respect each other and often have a fun time talking together and I do think
that, as you said, we are doing great things together. I believe that if we
were really unified we could do greater things, and sometimes we truly are. I
would love any suggestions you have.
You told us to report on any miracles from the concert
and mark it as urgent,
Thanks for everything you do,
Elder Matt Sabey
Sept 2, 2012
Hey All love you so much,
So Elder Shamo wrote me and I can't write him back
without his address
can you tell him that. waltershamo@aol.com
TO answer your questions: How often do you use balloon
tying as a missionary? Weekly, and this last week was the first time we decided
to go balloon contacting only and actually saw success (Found a prepared family
that was looking for a church) so I might start to use it more, they have those
balloons in Taiwan so I can go buy them, no need to ship them here. What is your apartment like? My apartment is
small one room with four segments, study area, kitchen, bed area and changing
area along with a bathroom, and is also full of cockroaches. Do you have specific mission goals, like the
Standard of Excellence that my mission used? We do and do not, President Grimly
had them and President Day hasn't changed them but he has brought a huge change
and a different focus so I would be surprised if the golden standards remain
the same.
My letter to president,
This week was good but interesting. From last Monday to
Thursday our companionship's relationship got better but then on Friday from
the meeting with the Zone Leaders on has deteriorated until yesterday. Elder
Wang felt that I wasn't doing my part because I didn't discuss with him how to
work with ward council and I didn't prepare well enough for lessons and didn't
care about others enough. On Sunday he went in the elevator without me twice
because I was too slow. So I told him that was disobedient and that he should
wait for me and he yelled at me for 20 minutes for not doing my part, I told
him my side and told him I would try and do better, and since then on our
relationship has gotten better. I think he is a cherry bomber, he lets things
build up inside and then lets it all out at one time. I hope and pray that it
will stay better, and the change I make will be enough to satisfy him, it is
hard that he isn't willing to change anything he even said that if I get to the
elevator after him he will still go down without me. But this week I had a
great thought I had was I believe Jesus is happy with my work and my mission
president is happy with my work, and I know that my family is happy with my
work. This brought me great comfort. Elder Wang and I are extremely different
people but we still have the same purpose and are still seeing miracles. I am
thankful for your prayers and ask you to keep praying.
Outside the companionship issues we are doing great. WE
have a great ward, area and investigators. We have many progression
investigators, one is a 9 and 10 year old who I teach on Sundays after church
and they should be getting baptized on the 15th when you come to give your talk
at the ward mission fireside. I am so excited. Thanks for the great training
and invites. I learned a lot.
Elder Sabey
One funny story was Saturday night my companion and I
didn't really talk much, and our relationship wasn't great and I just wanted to
feel loved so I felt like reading a letter from mom, but felt I didn't have
time, but them I had an overwhelming desire to read a letter from mom so I did
and mom’s letter was about how even when some companions are like a Dementor,
you all still love and pray for me. I felt so loved and understood by god and
you all.
SO for the miracles, this week we had one great new
investigator who set a baptismal date and felt the spirit as we meet with him
and afterwards went to lunch with us and after lunch bought us some great milk
tea.., I believe, I never tasted it. We gave it to the owners of the restaurant
to drink.
Love you all and thanks for your prayers,
Elder Sabey
PS sorry today's was short but I had a ton of letters to
read.
Sept 9, 2012--Brian's engagement
Brian’s
Engaged!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Not like I have been praying
for it ever since Dia got home. I am so excited!!!! Life is so cool. Oh yeah,
mm mm mm. SO yeah god does answer prayers. What now! :)
This week was
better, I feel like my companion is trying harder on our relationship and is
trusting me more, so I feel glad about that. Oh and Brian’s engaged. So I hope
that next week when one of us moves it will be on friendly terms. I am starting
to learn to love him, God has been blessing me with insight to why he often
insults or reproves or corrects me, and often it is because he loves the
investigators and is nervous about if he leaves the area what will happen to
them and wants me to be better. So I am often able to accept it without getting
to hurt, and also more able to make the change. I am trying to be a wise man
and when rebuked to love the rebuker, and I haven't been as much as I should
be. Man it is hard but I think it is getting better and better. Oh and Brian’s
engaged. So I would love you to pray for
me still.
This week’s
miracles/one funny story
This week we got 9
investigators to church and one A-Ma whose English name is Elizabeth, and
another person who just came randomly so 11 no-members came. This A-Ma is so
cute. She has no teeth and her English is ok. She has the biggest heart. When I
ran into her at a park she gave me 2 pens and some cupcakes that had already
been opened. Then Sunday she morning gave us 2 red been baozi, mmmmmmmm. She
also gave a 90 year old a-ma one, maybe the only member older then her at our
church. She is not rich at all but loves giving. My heart is full of love to
her.
Funny story, we
had clean up the world day this week. SO all the Taipei missionaries meet at
gongguan at 8:30. Put on our helping hands vests and walked to the place at 9,
from 9-10 we had opening ceremonies, then 10-10:30 we cleaned/ scratched gum
off the sidewalks, then went back and 10:30-noon had closing ceremonies. 3
hours of ceremonies, 30 minutes of cleaning. That’s the life.
Love you all
Elder Sabey
Letter to pres.
Hey President Day,
This week has gone
well, we had two investigators pass their baptismal interview! They are the
lambs you invited us to teach, one called Jia Rong and one called Qian Yi. One 9 years old and one 11. They will be
baptized at the fireside that you will be speaking at this next Saturday. We
were thinking you and Sister Day could have 20 minutes at the end for the grand
finale. I believe my companion has told you but I wanted to make sure.
This week was so
busy we almost had no proselyting time until Friday which was good but
different. I am loving the area and investigators and am getting better with
the ward. I loved the clean up the world service, and am excited for our
interview on Wednesday.
This week we got
9 investigators to church and one A-Ma whose English name is Elizabeth, and
another person who just came randomly so 11 non-members came. This A-Ma is so
cute. She has no teeth and her English is ok. She has the biggest heart. When I
ran into her at a park she gave me 2 pens and some cupcakes that had already
been opened. Then Sunday morning gave us 2 red been baozi, mmmmmmmm. She also
gave a 90 year old a-ma one, maybe the only member older then her at our
church. She is not rich at all but loves giving. My heart is full of love to
her. Thanks Elder Sabey
Sept 16, 2012
Hey everyone!
This week was
pretty great. We had 2 baptisms a great fireside which president attended and
got called to be a trainer and gave a 18 minute talk in sacrament meeting. So
kinda crazy.
First I will
answer your questions
So, deliberately trying to improve your companionship,
how is it going? It is going well, I couldn't say we are best friends but we
are definitely not enemies, and often enjoy being with each other. But I must
admit I am so excited for a new companion. How was your interview with the
president? My interview went ok, nothing to special. I was pretty sick that
day, so wasn't on the ball when he asked questions, but came out with some new
goals- Prepare to be a senior companion and finish the new testament in 12
weeks and as time allows read Jesus the Christ along with the New Testament. I
honestly was a little depressed because I thought I wasn't impressive at all to
the president, but must have done something right because he gave me such a
huge trust, to be a trainer. I am a little nervous because I haven't been a
senior companion yet, and am going straight to trainer, but I believe all will
be well.
How are your investigators? They are doing well, we have
possibly 4 baptisms next month, and 2 which we would be surprised if were not
baptized.
So about this week
We can start on Friday- Friday I found an Indian college student who meet with
the missionaries before, about one year ago, and went to the English ward here
once and loved it. But then because of a family emergency he had to go back to
India and since then has still been praying daily. He was so excited to come
back to church. This Sunday he came to our church because he forgot how to go
to the other church, so I got to translate for him. Then meet with him and set
a baptismal date, and set up a time to do a temple tour and take him to see the
English ward building. Friday night I
was asked to give a talk on Sunday morning, which wasn't much time, so during
lunch and dinner times I prepared, and the talk went smoothly. It was cool to
be able to give an 18 minute talk in Chinese. I am still a little amazed I can
do that.
Saturday night we had the fireside and President Day and
his wife came, during the fireside we had the baptism of two adorable children
which I had the privilege of teaching all 4 lessons to. Then that night after
the fireside ended the Assistants called and asked if I would be willing to be
a trainer and I said yes, then he said you will be moving so give your
testimony tomorrow at church, and I told him, "No problem, I am giving a
15 minute talk tomorrow anyway." It was kind of funny.
Well love you all and JiaYou
Elder Sabey
Hey President,
Thanks so much for coming and supporting us and our ward
at the fireside. Also thanks for trusting me enough to call me as a trainer. It
means a lot to me. I was beginning to doubt if I was trusted by the lord. I am
a little nervous because I have never been senior companion before, but I have
done the invite about re-reading the leadership section, and thinking/writing
down what I learned from each companion and it really helped. Thanks for the
invite
Sept 24, 2012
Hey family!
I love you all so much. Sounds like we will be doing 2
hours of email these next 2 transfers. So you can write me as much as you want
and I will still have time to respond. So no more excuses for not writing a
long letter (Josh, Dad (a few weeks ago), any one else who might be looking for
an excuse not to write much to me.)
So training is going well. My companions name is Richmond
Thornley (facebook- Richmond Stirling Thornley), he was his high schools prom
king so yeah. He is great and trusts me completely which is a good feeling and
a huge responsibility. Kind of like a real baby. I have to help him learn how
to talk, I have to help him get food and make it a transition from soft
American food to hard Taiwanese food, teach him how to be a good missionary. My
letter to president says a lot.
Here is my letter to president
Hey president,
I am excited to be
training and I love my companion. He is so humble and willing to do anything I
tell him which makes things so easy. His Chinese is great, and he can be a fun
person to talk to. But he is having a hard time adjusting to Taiwan, and becoming
an agent and just going and working without me telling him what to do. I would
love any advice. Every companionship study till now he has cried and I think a
part of it is the spirit but I think a lot of it is he misses home and is
having a hard time. I never really had that experience, so it is hard for me to
relate, but I am praying/pleading for guidance and have received some
revelation which has helped, I am just giving him tons of time to talk and ask
questions, and try to always get his advice, and sharing an inspiring scripture
daily. I feel like he completely trusts me which is so great. Our relationship
is good, I love him and truly want to help him. But he is also fairly
introverted so I don't know exactly how he feels about me. I believe he feels I
am pushing him hard, which is true, but I am trying my best to slowly give him
more and more responsibility like D&C suggests.
Miracles:
Yesterday we saw a huge miracle! We were tracting and ran into a family with a
10 year old son and 6 year old daughter. They were so nice, and set up a time
for us to come back next Sunday at 7:30. I enjoy tracting and have found around
4 new investigators from it on my mission, however I have only found a family
once and they didn't let us come back. I am so excited for next Sunday. There were many other miracles, like we got
to attend a baptism this week which helped us focus our goals and was a great
experience. Also the wards are so excited to have another companionship in
their area, and already are supporting us.
The new area has
two investigators that other missionaries were teaching and they are both set
up for next week. I have contacted both bishops and am going to meet with them
this next week. I wanted to do it the first night but didn't have their
numbers. When I got here I felt like there was nothing missionary-wise going on
in our area. I felt a large burden of responsibility, but I at church I talked
with a few families and set them up, and have been calling many people and
getting set ups. I feel like the ball is
starting to move but I feel by the end of this transfer our area will be
thriving. It is hard work but exciting. I am so excited to see the miracles of
meeting with members and the bishops. I have been trying hard to get the wards
trust and am trying hard to catch your vision of missionary work. I believe it
was inspired and am excited to tell you miracles next week.
I feel like am
learning a lot as a missionary because I have never been senior companion or
trainer before. I have never opened an area, I have never focused on
relationships with the ward, and never contacted with a companion before. I,in
many ways, feel as much of a greeney as my companion. But believe we are doing
what the lord would have us do, and I am still so happy when working.
My language development is going ok, I can pretty much
read the Book of Mormon now, which is exciting.
This is my report. Anything else you would want me to
report on? Any other suggestions?
Love you and pray
for you,
Elder Sabey
So I am in a huge transition phase with a huge
responsibility. It is kind of crazy, but I am happy, mostly because I have a
new companion. It makes such a huge difference
having a good companion. I am glad for Brian and Dia and believe they
will be a great companionship. I read in Mathew 19 I believe about how marriage
is becoming one flesh one with the other, that is sealed by god and divorcee is
bad because it is ripping apart that which god sealed together. Kind of cool.
Spiritual thought
this week- 2 Nephi 25:26 and 26:24-25 are so great. Christ will not do anything
that is not for our benefit and wants us to be happy, and we do that by rejoicing
in him. Preaching of him, testifying of him. I believe that is the other reason
I am so happy, even though have a lot of stress and responsibility.
Love you all
Elder Sabey
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