Zai Jian Macau!
Da Ga Hooo!
How is everybody doing? I had a great last week in Macau, very bittersweet that's for sure. So I found out that my next area will be Kowloon! It is a huge area, I will be with a newer missionary named Elder Graham, I'm not sure if he has finished training or not, and I will be a District Leader again over in Kowloon. I got super nervous when I got my moves, it's a lot to take in! I didn't expect to be a district leader again or Senior Comp in a new area, so I was feeling quite nervous when I got that call. I still feel like I have to learn so much, it's humbling, and I will definitely be relying on God even more when I move. It is definitely going to stretch and push me, which is good, because that is how we grow! Anyways I will be moving this Wednesday, and will also get to go to the temple on moves day with my zone which will be great we are really blessed in this mission to be able to go every transfer. I will also get to serve in one of the only Mandarin speaking branches in the mission which will be great! I'm happy I served here in the Cantonese one it helped me learn a lot more of the languages, I am so grateful and feel very blessed the Heavenly Father has helped me so much with these languages, and has blessed me with the opportunity to learn.
Like I said, this last week here in Macau has been bitter sweet. Unfortunately it is a huge week of testing and then break for the Universities here, so all of our Mandarin investigators basically just said they couldn't meet for these weeks which was brutal, I didn't get to teach any of them this week :( We did get to meet a new mandarin investigator from the Sisters though! Her name is Than Than, she actually speaks Burmese and Cantonese, but is originally from mainland. She is 65, quite lonely, and is sick with cancer, so she is very weak from the chemotherapy. But she is still very bright and asks lots of hard questions. I could tell she was a very lonely person, she loved to talk and loved the company of us and the sisters, who taught her how to cook Spaghetti. My companion and I taught her the Restoration and really wanted to focus on the fact that she is a daughter of God, and that he knows her and loves her, and that he knows all that she needs. It was powerful, and I could see in her eyes as she grasped that new possibility, and I saw her brighten, she said, is it really true?? We said yes, I promise God knows you, Than Than, by name. She said, how do you know? It's simple. You just need to pray to him. Everyone, I know it's all true! I say this in all my emails haha but it's because I really know it just as surely as I know that Kevin Woolley is my dad here (shoutout to my dad). But maybe you might wonder, like Than Than did, how do you know, how can you know? And it's the same simple answer, I have prayed to my Father in Heaven, pleading to know if He was real or not, if He existed, if He knew me, if He cared about me. And I got an answer. And time and time again, as I pray, as I truly talk with God, not just say words, I feel the truth of it all in a feeling that can't be explained. As we talked with Than Than I felt so much compassion, and hope that she can feel it as well, because I know God loves her, and I can only hope she will try to know as well, it will make all the difference in her life.
I got to take the sacrament to two members' homes who are unable to leave the house due to physical disabilities, and both of them touched my heart. The first member is Zhang Jie Mei. She has a terrible disability that has caused all of her outer appendages to shrink and they hang uselessly from her body. Her upper body has become compact, and she can move nothing other than her head. I have never seen anything like it, she sits in a little highchair for about an hour a day, and then lies down the rest of the time. She told us she hasn't left the house in years. The saddest thing is that the ward seems to have forgotten about her. Other than us missionaries, she has not been visited by anyone recently, even though she is an amazing convert, who even went through the temple back when she could walk. She is someone who has definite cause to be an angry person, she has almost been forgotten by the members, and has an unbelievably hard trial of disability and loneliness. Yet she knows that the Savior has not forgotten her, that God has not forgotten one of his precious children. She is one of the happiest, kindest people I have ever met. She bears no anger, no depression, no bitterness towards anyone. It is hard for me to even imagine, I know that I am not nearly as strong as she, I think if I were in that situation I would be much more angry. But she thanks the Lord, she treats the sacrament with the utmost respect, and thanks us graciously for our visits, as we had answered her prayers in helping her to take the sacrament every week again. I will not forget her example of charity, and the strength of her faith. She is truly one with a powerful and immovable faith.
The other family is the Taguiam family, from the Philippines. They are too old to leave the house as well, but Sister Joy Taguiam got up and cleaned the whole apartment for a few hours before we came with the sacrament, telling us that she wanted the house to be as clean as possible for the sacrament. Their reverence and respect for the sacrament brought me to tears as I saw how preciously they viewed the sacrament, and truly understood what it stands for. I was once again reminded of the sacred and wonderful nature of the sacrament, I hope we as members never forget, never let it get repetitive or boring, and always remember the privilege it is to partake of it easily and conveniently every week.
This last week we had the Christmas party for the Cantonese wards here in Macau! It was super fun, with lots of fun acts, and a super cute kids nativity. It's so fun seeing these different cultures and languages celebrating the same Savior. I also brought my Christmas vest and Santa Tie literally for this one night haha so funny, everyone was like I can't believe you brought that on the mish just for this, but they don't understand my passion for Christmas. The members loved it though! I also got to perform piano for the party which was super fun. It's been great being able to share that talent here in Macau. My little student Ricky is doing so good! He will be playing silent night at the international party next week which I will unfortunately miss. He and his wife were able to fly out there son from the Philippines this week and I got to meet him before I leave! ( a lot of families in the Philippines are split with parents leaving the country to work for money to send back to their families) It was so great to see them all together as a family, and I was just so happy to have been able to be a part of Ricky's reactivation and getting the priesthood and everything, families are truly ordained of Heavenly Father. There is such a special spirit and happiness there, and I was so blessed to be able to see them with there little baby boy! Man I love the international ward here it is so hard to leave! The members are so welcoming and amazing, they all will sacrifice so much to help one another. The Alayon family here is truly amazing, probably the most dedicated and willing to serve family I have ever met. I think I talked about President Alayon last week, but the rest of his family is just as great, they all stay long hours serving at the church, and their son Ryan Alayon ( a return missionary) is just amazing. He has a beast testimony and always brings the spirit in our lessons with LAs. They help us a lot with speaking tagalog to the members. I have really gotten close with their family, and appreciate their work and examples so much!
Thank you everyone, especially my family! I hope everyone is having a good Christmas season! Always remember to keep Christ in this season, gifts and all that are great, but of course the Savior is greater!
"May we all make the journey to Bethlehem in spirit, taking with us a tender, caring heart as our gift to the Savior" -Thomas S. Monson. Everyone imagine if you could journey to see the babe in the manger, and what he would really want us to offer him!
Love,
Elder Woolley