I decided to test out my photography skills :) Welcome to Dyker!
Hey Mom,
Sorry this email is so late. The elder's apartment is being shut down so we helped clean all morning.
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| Taken by Sister Johnson, edited by me |
I wanted to say that sometimes we can all relate to Peter at some point of our lives. Peter was an apostle/a prophet of God. He had witnessed so many miracles Jesus had performed. He had seen how Jesus taught, how Jesus acted, and how Jesus loved. Peter loves the Savior and was willing to do anything for Him.
One stormy day on the boat, Peter and the other apostles saw a man walking on water. They were afraid, Jesus spoke with a calm voice, "Be not afraid, it is I." Peter saw the Savior and asked if he could walk on water and go to him. Jesus told him to come. Peter confidently got out of the boat and kept his eyes fixed on the Savior. He was filled with faith until the wind became boisterous and he was filled with fear that he started to sink. The storm can be our distractions and our pride in our mortal lives. The storm can also become our temptations or weaknesses.
There is so many different ways to relate to Peter and his experience. I realized that I am a missionary who is not perfect but I know I can do better each day. I was allowing my pride and my weaknesses to get in the way of many things and have found myself full of discouragement and focusing on what I wanted. I wanted to be diligent to the end of my mission, I wanted to progress and do better, I wanted to speak Chinese perfectly. I realized that I was focusing on my own progression and not other people's progression. Before I knew it, I found myself sinking in the water like Peter had. As soon as I realized I was sinking into despair and negativity, I cried out in prayer, "Lord, Save me!" This week, I have found myself praying more sincerely to the Lord. As I pray, I ask my Heavenly Father to help me become more humble and become the person He wanted me to become. I knew this was a general question/idea. So I asked my Heavenly Father to help me make plans to become more Humble. I reviewed my day with Him and as I was praying with real intent, I saw things that I was doing wrong and Heavenly Father has shown me what I needed to change..... Heavenly Father had talked with me. He had given me a direct revelation, He had shown me that if I continue to forget myself and go to work, the progression of other people will grow fast. I saw many miracles. I saw a great change in other people's lives because I was willing to sacrifice my wants and needs for them. When I saw that I was sacrificing my wants and needs, I was becoming the person Heavenly Father wanted me to become because I was willing to give. I started to act on the answer/revelation I had received from Heavenly Father, I noticed that as soon as I had the desire to help other people, my own progression improved too. I started seeing the blessings Heavenly Father has for all of us. It was incredible! It's amazing when we change our attitude and our behavior to become better, we recognize God's love even more! I just love it!
Peter was saved by our loving Rescuer, Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ knew Peter wasn't perfect but expected Him to do better. Jesus never gave up hope and loved Peter. The Savior would do the same for us because He loves us so much and He was willing to die for each one of us. Jeffery R. Holland said, "However late you think you are, however many chances you think you have missed, however many mistakes you feel you have made or talents you think you don’t have, or however far from home and family and God you feel you have traveled, I testify that you have not traveled beyond the reach of divine love. It is not possible for you to sink lower than the infinite light of Christ’s Atonement shines."
My companion and I teach 4 Advanced English classes each week. Last month, my companion and I felt prompted to read a story to help them practice their listening and reading skills. Since we are not authorized to use the Internet, we use gospel library from our IPad. We chose the story, "Bear Up Their Burdens with Ease." By Elder David A. Bednar. There was a point where the main character in the story started to pray. We had everyone discuss the story with their partner. There was an 18 year old young man. He had a question for me and asked about prayer. I explained to him. After class, I told the elders to teach him since he was a male. He had started meeting with the missionaries. Almost every class, he had volunteered to pray for us. He has been coming to church every Sunday. Each English Classes we had, I started to see the changes in his life. The quiet boy who sat in class changed to a man who had bright eyes and a big smile on his face. He will be getting baptized
on December 13.
This week, we also asked if anyone wanted to volunteer to pray for us in English Class. I have gotten close to one of the English class students. She is only 14 years old. She had asked me questions about the church before but we have never sat down with her and taught her the lessons. She looked at me with her big eyes when I asked that question if anyone was willing to pray for us. I asked if she knew how to pray and she said no. I asked, "Would you like to learn how to pray?" She nearly screamed, "Yes!" After English class, we sat down with her. I said, "Prayer is a communication between God and you because He loves you!" She put her hand over her heart and said that she was feeling something. We taught her to pray and she was willing to pray with us and after the prayer, she felt a chill that went down her spine. She said she was feeling something that she has never experienced before. She felt she had a lot of strength after her prayer and wants to learn more about the gospel. When we had our 2nd lesson with her, she told us that she has been praying daily. Our other investigator came in the middle of the lesson and asked what we were talking about. We answered, "The gospel!" He got so excited that he dropped his stuff down and sat down with us. He talked so much in the lesson. He was like a member present for us but wasn't baptized yet. It was so amazing! We talked about church and he was so excited that he couldn't contain himself, he said, "I love the Hymns. Oh the sacrament is amazing! The speakers are wonderful!" He started to testify how it changed his life. He told her how much he loves the gospel! He had that huge smile on his face. He told us he wanted to be a missionary because he knew it was true! Because of his testimony and our simple invitations, her and her little sister came to church yesterday. Doing simple things can bring to pass great things! It's incredible how Heavenly Father is touching the hearts of the youth these days! Two teenagers who had the desire to learn and are changing their lives. Heavenly Father has been preparing us with the most amazing people I have ever met! I love them so much!
Yesterday was the Children's Program. Can I tell you how many investigators and less actives we have been working with that came to church yesterday? 6 investigators and 3 less actives! The Lord has been so merciful to us. The kids were a little bit wild yesterday so hopefully the investigators liked it. Lucy finally stayed all three hours of church. Her son hates church. Lucy normally leaves after sacrament because of him. Last week, she got more convinced that she needed to stay at church. Last week, we saw her dragging her son to primary. He was on the floor, it was funny.
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We also have another new investigator. We met her last week with her boyfriend in English Class and we just hit it off. Her boyfriend is out of state working so we got to meet with and teach her, and she goes to a different church but she wants to learn more. She is so pure in heart. She was one of the investigators that came church yesterday and was laughing through the whole time because of the children. She is so sweet! Oh she came 30 minutes early! How prepared is she?
We also had a baptism of one of our investigators, Zhang Yan. It was pretty incredible. One of the elders' investigators got baptized with her too. Zhang Yan was so nervous but was so cute. The elders forgot to turn off the water and it filled up to the floor and the water wasn't warm..... But Zhang Yan had the biggest smile on her face. I am so proud of her and how much she has changed. She will do great things. Now it's time to help her husband prepare for his baptism as well. Pray for him that he will be worthy enough to receive baptism!
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Afterward, we had a goodbye party for one of the elders who is leaving to go home this week. So guess what?!? A lot of my Flushing people came!! It was literally one of the best days ever! After the baptism, when we left the the room.... I saw everyone from Flushing in the hallway and I just literally cried. My heart was filled with joy and I have missed them so much! I haven't seen them since April. It was incredible to see the difference they have made in their lives and hear that they are doing good with their lives! I just love them! Brian is a member that I used to work with in Flushing. He is the young men president. Whenever I struggle, Brian knows and comes to me and talks with me. He always tells me this, "You're my sunshine Sister Moore." Or says stuff to make me happy. He is literally one of my favorite people from the mission.
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| First time I saw Brian after almost a year! |
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| Chen Ling |
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| My peeps! |
We didn't have time to do our dishes this week so we had to be creative!
Overall, it has been a good week! I can't believe that I am starting my last transfer today. It's crazy how time flies by so fast.

We are with the Spanish sisters. It was a rainy day!
I love ya with all my heart!
Sister Moore