Yup, so I became a "dad" this week! That means that I am training! I got the call from president on Tuesday morning telling me to be at the mission home to meet my trainee who just got here from the Provo MTC. I can't even begin to describe the feelings I had after that conversation! A lot of doubts about my Chinese, if I can keep up the pace without Elder Fong, and if I can help this new missionary adjust quickly to the real world of missionary work. My trainer had a huge influence on me, so I was just nervous I wasn't going to do this new Elder well! But regardless, we sucked it up, and I have a new comp, Elder Phillips! He is the man! He is adjusting quicker than I did I think, but he is still pretty jet lagged. He has a crazy drive to learn and use Chinese, so that is going to do him well. I am pretty optimistic at how things are going to work out in Butterfly for the next 9 weeks!!!
So this week has consisted of a lot of just explaining how to do things, when to do them, why we do them. It is a big difference being senior as well as a trainer, but the Lord trusts us. Blows my mind that he trusts us. haha. Just kidding, but really, we have a lot of responsibility to our area.
So real quick, we have had so many interactions with mainlanders this week, it is ridiculous!!! They are all so golden its not even funny, but there is really no way to help them. Sunday, we had a couple from the mainland in the area just doing some shopping and saw our church, so they checked it out. We explained a little bit about the restoration, got them some reading material and off they went! Crazy, huh? Finding later that day we saw these two ladies with tons of shopping bags that were lost. We asked them if they needed help, turns out they don't know Cantonese, but knew a little English. They were looking for the bus back to Shengzen. So we walked them to the bus stop and talked with them on the way. They were so awesome! It was difficult to communicate a little bit, but they had so much interest in learning about the church and why we were white guys learning Chinese and being so nice to strangers. There were at least three or four other mainlanders that we met throughout the week. Lots of people have never heard about the church before, and it is an awesome feeling being their first contact with the Church!!!
Nothing really of interest to report. Still have grandmas telling me how good looking I am, talk about a confidence booster. haha.
I guess one thing that has been on my mind lately is about how powerful an example is. Think about it. We follow Christ, the perfect example. He paved the way. A righteous example is a powerful example. I have noticed that Elder Phillips really trust me and does as I do. It has been an added motivator to be exactly obedient. Because of others in my life and their great examples, I have been able to choose to do the right things regardless of the circumstances. Remember how powerful your example can be to others.
Love you all. Pray for me and my new comp! We are going to need it. My Chinese is ok, but I still struggle at times. And by that, I mean all the time. haha. Oh well.
Till next week! I have loved hearing from you all this week!
Elder Woodburn
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