MACAU 4

On Saturday my visa in Macau expires and will be kicked out, ha, only to come back and ask for more days! We will see how much longer I will be allowed to stay. :)

I had originally been very nervous and didn't want to come to Macau very much, but once being called there I knew that's where Heavenly Father wanted me to be and so far I have really felt his power in arranging everything.

The less-active member here named A-Tihng has been baptized two years prior, and due to her bad family situation she is very hard to be sociable to and it had been difficult for previous missionaries to help her progress. But once meeting me and finding out that I am Korean, she was very excited to tell me all the Korean things she loves, and has been very active (perhaps too active) in calling us missionaries lately whereas before she never called them. At first we thought maybe she has some mental problems, it was a struggle to teach her, but we are finding that she just needs to learn how to be sociable. I am especially noticing my past self in her, having no friends with family problems and not knowing how to interact with people, etc. and I realized that the thing that has changed me to be who I am today was the Book of Mormon and so I made my best effort to help her be more interested to read the book. It is very hard because often she doesn't hear what we say in the lesson and goes off telling us something so off topic, but we have hope because by being straight forward and loving, she has actually been progressing--coming to church each week and participating in the classes, also meeting new people, calling us not too much but simply calling us once a day now to tell us thank you and how happier she feels, sharing with us that she knows she has problems and has the desire to repent and change and become better person, being more diligent in her school work (she is 22 still trying to finish highschool level), she has actually been answering the questions ON-topic during our lessons which means she now is listening to the words we say, she knows the Book of Mormon and church will bless her. So we have high hopes for her, especially me, because I know that God has made me all that I am today, and if He can change me and find use in me now doing His work, He can also make that happen for everyone as long as we let Him and feast upon His words.

Also this past week we met with Esther a member in Macau 1st Branch, and it is also very inspiring because I actually knew her before my mission. I met her when I went to an activity one Sunday evening provided by these two brothers in our Singles Ward at BYU and she was from Macau and was surprised I knew where that was, and I was excited to tell her I just got my mission call to Hong Kong and she taught me one of my first few words of Cantonese I learned: Thank you and God :)

She felt it was very special that we met again, she remembered me and I also remembered her, and we were able to share some messages to strengthen her as well. She was very supportive of us missionaries and was very giving. We missionaries also learned much from her.

I have also realized that my first 6 months of mission, especially while I served in my first area, has really prepared me to be Sister Wong's companion. Because I already knew her and her family and her home ward in Hong Kong, and we realized that we had lots of experiences that were similar and strengthening to us as we shared them. I am also very blessed to be working with such incredible convert youths of the branch, one of them that Sister Bingham has taught when she herself was in Macau. We have A-Yan's baptism coming this Sunday, and we are so excited!! Jenny's baptism is the next Sunday but we are praying because her parents were pretty hesitant on giving her permission to be baptized, but strangely they wake her up every Sunday and send her off to church (because waking up is Jenny's weakness-like me, haha) :) We also found some more new investigators through many small and big miracles, one of them being Alice who is excited to learn more and find out for herself, we are very excited to introduce her to A-Yan because they are around the same age :)

Work in Macau is going well, it's different, teaching me different things and making me work hard in different focus than in Hong Kong but going well. I am happy and well.

Got to go now, but I love you as always, you are still in my prayers,

Sister Burningham