Hey fam! Things are good out here. I'm all safe from the fires so that's good. They evacuated 10 missionaries, but I'm not really very close to what's happening up there. It has been super smoky though.
This past week was pretty good. Tuesday we had transfers. It
was sad to see Elder Gunsay leave. Elder Vang came through Oroville on his way
up to Chico, so it was fun to see him again for a few minutes.
So a week from last Saturday, Elder Gunsay and I were
sitting home, it's about 9:15 at night, and we get a call from someone in Washington. We answer it, and it's the mission president up there. I'm talking to
him, and I don't know if I told you but way back when I first got here, we were
doing skype lessons with some sisters up in Washington, teaching a Hmong girl.
So the president asked about that, and I thought like "man, are we in
trouble or something?" cuz like they were sisters, but we followed the
rules... turns out, they needed our help again. Two elders found a Hmong couple
who actually went to church, but don't really understand English. Tuesday we met
them, and Thursday we had our first lesson and put the wife on date for
baptism. It was pretty awesome! It's so cool to see all the work that can be
done with technology, cuz otherwise she's like not going to understand anything
the elders try to teach up there. So that's pretty exciting.
Wednesday morning, we had a lesson with Shane (ntxoov oos),
the guy who was progressing and reading the Book of Mormon... or so I thought.
We get in there, and the first thing he says to us is "this might be kinda
greedy of me, but I want this to be the last meeting." After that, we did
our best to save it... but he didn't really want us to come back. He didn't
really give us a very good reason either, just felt like he wanted to find
things for himself I guess. So that was pretty disappointing. I was pretty sad,
cuz like we don't have many investigators at all... and even less that actually
keep commitments, so to have him drop us was pretty sad for me at least. Had
district council and whatnot after that.
Thursday we were supposed to have a lesson with Thaomee, the
person who is on date.... but that fell-through again. But we set up to meet
with them next week. Honestly, the work was just pretty slow this past week. We
haven't had anyone to church this whole transfer, and haven't found too many
solid new people to teach. Elder MacDonald really likes to work with the
less-actives, so we did a lot of that, and actually had like the wife of one of
the guys we went to see come to church, so that was awesome. But anyway, all in
all the work has been really kinda slow, which prompted my study this past
week.
So I studied a ton more about faith, and miracles, cuz like,
I always hear from other missionaries, like "wow, this was a week of
miracles" or like "we had all of this happen, it was a
miracle." So I figured I had to find out what a miracle is, and according
to a talk from Oct. 2017, a miracle is a beneficial event brought about through
a power that mortals don't understand. In this talk (titled Has the day of
miracles ceased, it's a great one) the guy talks about this awesome miracle
where this guy fell off of Mt. Shasta (which, fun side note, is in my mission. I'll never see it, but it's here) and broke like everything in his body and a
succession of miracles led to him making a full recovery when the doctors
thought he should be dead. By all meanings of the word, it was a miracle.
However, the general authority says he visited the family of
the guy who had that miracle, and he realized that they had the faith
sufficient that, even if he would have passed away, they still would have been
just as solid as before; nothing was going to shake their faith. I love that so
much. Despite the outcome of what happened, they would have still have had faith in
Jesus Christ and His Gospel, just like before. And that's what brings about
miracles, faith in Jesus Christ. He then talks about all the times that
miracles don't happen, and how we are to still have faith just as strong as
ever through those times. Goes really well with the talk I wrote about last
week, "But if not...".
When I think about my mission so far, I have seen a lot of
miracles. Not so much in the form of vast numbers of people coming to be
baptized, like in some instances in the Book of Mormon, but small miracles.
Miracles like being in the right place at the right time to talk to someone who
needs to talk to us, even if I don't ever see anything come from it. Miracles
like hearing the perfect fellowshipper testify of truth to a family. Miracles
where I really don't know what to say, but then something comes, in halfway
understandable Hmong, nonetheless. And ya know, talking about this past week...
I don't know if there were any big miracles.... but I know in whom I trusted.
My faith is in Christ, and I know that I will see miracles as I continue to put
my faith in Christ. I know that's true for everyone, not just people learning
the gospel and missionaries.
I love you guys. Thanks for all of the support you have
given me to get me out here on the mission. I still have a lot to learn and a lot
more changing to do, but I feel like I'm slowly becoming a better person.
Trying to change my nature, not just my behavior. Hlub nej kawg siab kawg ntsws
Elder Muaj Koob
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