4 month miracle

Happy Chinese New Year 昔年快乐！

This week has been great, my first Chinese New Year has been a blast.

It started off with Zone Conference and we learned a lot from our mission president. Also the drive to the place we met was so beautiful, it was through this mountainous rainforest that I didn't even know existed in Australia. I absolutely love nature and seeing those huge expanses of what God has created. 

I started talking to a guy who instantly went into Bible bashing and asking all sorts of questions like 'what's the Hebrew root word of Holy Ghost' and stuff like that where I'm just thinking 'I have no idea', so I just tell him 'I have no idea'. After a few questions like that where it was clear that this guy was more educated on the Bible than I am, I felt pretty silly standing there trying to share about Jesus Christ with a guy who seemed to know so much more than me. But when I thought that, another thought came to mind which I know was from the Spirit. I was reminded that God calls weak and humble people to be His disciples. He doesn't need us to be perfect. He doesn't expect us to know everything. He just wants us to do our best to follow Him. 

I expressed this to the man by bearing my testimony of Jesus Christ and of the Book of Mormon which I know is His restored truth. I shared about what has brought me joy and hope can do the same for him. And I know God was proud of me. It was a good experience.

We had a great dinner with some members and talked about how Joseph Smith's question was so important-which church is true, and how can I know it? I'm so grateful that he went and asked God, and now we have the fullness of the gospel again today. The members shared that when they had first joined the church, they had the same questions as Joseph Smith. I really liked hearing their testimonies. Then afterward, we practiced a musical number for the Chinese New Year party, and I got to learn how to play the ernu (basically a Chinese cello with 2 strings). 

It was just after lunch and time to go finding. We looked at the temperature and it was 108 degrees. Tracting or being outside didn't sound too pleasant. I compromised with my companions and told them we could just do one hour and then we would find something else to do (although I didn't have much else in mind). But then the miracle happened. As soon as we stepped outside and struggled to breathe because of the stifling heat, we got a text from Lily, one of our investigators who we've been teaching for months but hadn't seen in a while. She invited us over for that afternoon. We finished our hour and then headed to her house. We had an awesome lesson with her and really felt her progressing. With her it's a long process but I have faith that eventually she will be able to accept all parts of the gospel.

When tracting one time Elder Chang somehow got a cut or scrape or something and his arm started bleeding. It was so small that he didn't notice it then absentmindedly rubbed his arm and got blood all over his other hand. He still didn't notice which was unbelievable to me. I stopped him before he knocked on someone's door. I could just imagine him going to shake someone's hand and they're looking at this guy with a blood-dripping hand and fearing for their life. But his smile is so cute that you wouldn't even worry.

I know that every mission field is different in terms of the people and their general level of interest in the gospel. For us in Australia, teaching a lesson to somebody who really wants to learn the gospel feels like a heaven-send (which it definitely is). We got that opportunity this week when one of our members invited her friends to meet us and learn about the gospel. (We love member missionaries!) So, we went to Ms. Lu's house with the member Ting. Ms. Lu had all sorts of questions and it just felt so great to be able to answer somebody's genuine questions and see them start to understand. She happily accepted the Book of Mormon and we read a scripture together that really touched her. Ting did a great job bearing her testimony and doing the inviting. It was the kind of lesson where you leave afterward and just fist pump the air and go 'YEAHHH'. It's always great to feel the Spirit teaching somebody and I cherish the times we get to do it. 

So there's a big disease in China and the members here are all pretty worried. It's been diagnosed in the town we live in with all the Chinese people and so a lot have people have stopped going outside and just staying home. But we are going to keep grinding until our mission president tells us it's too dangerous. Keep doing the Lord's work.

So, one thing I've learned about Chinese culture is the importance of food. 70-80% of the time in the car or in the flat or literally anywhere, my companions will be discussing food. Eating food, making food, buying food, smelling food, anything about food and they'll talk about it. When we sit down to eat dinner, they will accept it as good or not, and then proceed to talk about all types of food other than what we're eating. They usually also discuss what they want to eat for the next meal, before they've even started eating the one in front of them. One time I mentioned to them that this is definitely new for me, since in American culture we don't really talk about food. They said that's because our food is too boring which honestly I can't deny, after hearing this much about Chinese food I'm pretty on board with it. Anyway, I've learned that food is the way they connect, and I've started using it as a finding technique, asking the Chinese people about what foods they like or want to eat. They always love talking about food. 

The most interesting part of this came from an observation followed by a question to Elder Chang. I spent weeks observing until I decided to confirm my theory. I asked Elder Chang:

Would you rather not eat for a day and be super hungry, OR eat a meal but it wasn't enough to fill you up and you still want to eat more?

He immediately grimaced at the thought of the second situation and responded that of course he would rather be hungry. So there you have it. In Chinese culture, if you're not going to be all the way full, you'd rather just not eat. It's an insult to food in general to not be full. 

It's pretty awesome learning about a new culture. Sometimes I miss talking about things other than food, but I've just accepted it at this point and now I do it too.

For Chinese New Year's Eve, we got together with all the Chinese missionaries and had a big dinner. It really felt like family dinner, I think all the Chinese missionaries were especially missing home on the holiday and so we all got to sit and eat and enjoy being together. They made some delicious food too. I just love feeling like I'm a part of this Chinese family.

For Chinese New Year our ward had a big activity. We spent the past 2 weeks inviting everyone and then the day of, we got there early to prepare the chapel for the event. There were red Chinese paper lanterns everywhere and a feeling of excitement in the air. We had prepared some musical numbers to perform, and some of the other members did some performances as well. We ended up having a lot of friends come which meant that I was hurrying back and forth making sure that we had everything in order and also that all our friends had somebody to welcome them and talk to them. Finally we had about 100 people, all sitting facing the stage and we began what ended up being one of the most strange series of events in my life. There were two members who were the 'emcees' for the event and started speaking into these microphones and reading off scripts that I hope were intentionally cheesy. Then the curtains opened and a guy came out on stage singing an old Chinese song at the top of his lungs. There was music playing over him and he couldn't remember the words so he kept pausing to look at his phone. He was quickly accompanied by two people waving long streamers around in what was supposed to be choreography? Everyone was laughing as it was clear that the people on stage had no idea what they were doing but they were definitely having fun. Most of the performances were like that- entertaining in their own awkward way. You could just tell everyone wanted to have a good time which was such a fun atmosphere. Later, Elder Song and I (my old companion who is a boxer) got on stage and I held a pad while he wailed on me with his boxing gloves. The people watching must have been quite confused but I know Elder Song had a good time. Another performance featured the ward's old ladies doing a hip hop dance. The events were interspersed by musical numbers, which I got to accompany on the piano and one I sang: Savior, Redeemer of my Soul. I loved inviting the Spirit that way. It was just hard to know what to think because the audience had just seen me get punched by Elder Song and now I was singing a song about Jesus. There was no pattern to the show but overall it was super fun. The friends who came all had a good time and said it really felt like Chinese New Year. The atmosphere was there and afterward we all had some good food, A LOT of it. I was so proud of our members who went around and talked to the new people and helped them feel welcome. 

The biggest miracle of the event was a man named Pan. Before it started and we were setting up, I walked into the chapel and saw 3 people that I hadn't seen in 4 months. One was a member from my old area, and the other two were a man named Pan and his daughter. He is the first investigator I ever found and taught on my mission. My first week in Australia, I ran into him on the street and we had begun to teach him. He progressed very quickly and Elder Feng (my companion at the time) and I were really excited. But then, he unexpectedly went back to China with no plan to return. Disappointed, Elder Feng and I moved on and forgot all about it. But then, more than 4 months later, I saw Pan at this activity. I was so surprised to see him and went up and asked him how he had ended up here. As soon as we started a conversation, Pan looked at me in disbelief because of my Chinese. When I'd first met him, I couldn't even understand what he was saying and could barely express myself. But now, we were talking like two normal guys and both of us were pretty amazed at the difference. So we started talking and he explained that he had just moved back to Australia that week and the member had found him and brought him to the activity. Then he showed me the Book of Mormon that we had given him 4 months earlier. He excitedly told me that he had read it secretly while in China and wanted to share his favorite scriptures with me. Then I felt strongly that he was ready to be baptized. We turned in the scriptures to 3 Nephi 11 and read together about Jesus' visit to the Nephites. Pan saw how Jesus had invited all of the people to repent and be baptized. Then I asked him if he believed that God would prepare a way for him to be ready for baptism. He told me he knew that He would. He's on date for February 15. After our conversation I had to go practice the music but told him to read more of 3 Nephi. He spent the next 2 hours sitting there reading the Book of Mormon. I was so grateful in my heart to God for giving me that experience and that miracle. It was God showing me that no effort is wasted and that I have more of an impact on people than I realize. I know God has a plan for all of His children and as I've learned to trust His timeline instead of mine, I've felt peace knowing that it's all going to work out. I'm so excited for Pan to be baptized and receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. It's been a cherished blessing to see the gospel bring light to his life, and how much he loves it. 

It's so awesome to get to be a missionary. I hope everyone works to form a closer relationship with God. It will bless every part of your life :)

大吉大利

Elder Halverson