NEVER RESIST A CHARITABLE IMPULSE

June 19, 2016

Family,

Thanks for sending that stain remover stuff. it is great. I decided it would be a good idea to polish my shoes in my white shirt, so those came in use and worked quite well.

Wang le is getting ready to be baptized on July 3. Passed the last obstacle, Word of Wisdom with great faith. He said, well, i can't promise perfection, but i'll do my best. We just testified, that's all He asks. We also found out some good news about his wife. She doesn't like to come cause she is afraid she won't have any friends here. It is nice to know about that. Hopefully as we help teach the ABL's to him, we can teach his wife.

Li Jm (recent convert mother we are teaching) is good. She really wants here son to go on a mission and go to BYU, but she isn't a member. Hopefully we can give here a date this week to work towards.

We dropped Liu DX. He was the old guy that worked at the cinema. Nicest guy, but doesn't really have interest. Just likes to talk with the missionaries mostly. Hopefully he will continue to read the Book of Mormon. As we were leaving the lesson with him this week, I felt the same way I felt when I walked out of Michael McConkie's classroom for the last time in 9th grade. Haven't felt that feeling in a long long time. When I walked out of that room in 9th grade, I was sad, a little bumbed out and very grateful for being able to know him and learn from him. Same thing with Liu DX. 

Jia Jm is good. We are meeting her this week. She explained to me yesterday at church that she doesn't exactly understand the Book of Mormon and what she is reading. Boy! That's not too hard of a problem to fix. She is great. Tied in well with the ward. The ward is really helpful.

Lately I have been thinking a lot about Arnold's talk from the last general conference. It has stuck with me. "Sometimes many weeks pass as we talk about how to help families or individuals who are in special need. We deliberate about who will visit them and the approach to take. Meanwhile, our lost brothers and sisters continue needing and sometimes even calling and pleading for help. We must not delay." Maybe it is just the nature of the mandarin missionary here in the New Territories, with no real ward to call home and having a lot of wards to coordinate with and many meetings to attend, but I feel like more time in my missionary efforts need to be spend out helping, serving, finding, teaching and baptizing instead of long meetings and deliberations of what to do. Anyway, I think that is an important principle. Must be something I need to work on, as that topic has seemed to occupy my mind and press upon my feelings the strongest.

I also like something that Sheri Dew shared, which was to never resist a charitable impulse. 

Out of time. Have a great week! 

Love,

Elder Josh Stratford (施長老)
Zhu Jm and another members daughter playing badmittion


mandarin activity

Yuen Long members. They just back from america going to high school at Timpview.