Sister Webb in Hong Kong: Subject to Change

If you come on a mission and do not expect to change, you will go and return in vain. This is my own adaptation of a line in the white handbook. A mission is meant to change you and if we don’t let it change us, then we literally have gone and will return in vain. We had a really powerful mission leadership conference this last week and the main focus was on repentance. Then TODAY we have a conference with Elder Stevenson from the Quorum of the Twelve! It is also going to be focusing on REPENTANCE! *hint taken...

So as I've been saying this transfer has been really hard so far. But my companion has been really supportive and very patient and loving with all my many faults. Love ya Sister Chan!

So our investigator, Tracy, told us this week that she has been thinking about baptism As we were walking home one night she said, “Guys, I want to go on a mission.." Me and Sister Chan just froze in our steps! We hadn’t brought up baptism all night because we didn’t want to stress her out about it, but then I put my arm around her and said, “That’s amazing Tracy.. but first, you need to be baptized. She takes a deep breath in and says, "Fine. I'll pick a date this week." So now Tracy is in Thailand on a school trip building houses and teaching English, but we met one of her good friends going with her and told him to remind her to pray every night! He laughed and promised he'd do his best (friend is not a member #refferalwaitingtobebaptized)

Then we have Leo. Leo totally stood us up this week. In Chinese it’s called "fong" when this happens. This didn’t stop us though! We hunted down his location and we found him! He was actually at a restaurant with a man in our ward! I love members who take the first step to fellowship our investigators! We met with him and encouraged him to really start thinking more about his baptismal date for April 1st and really try to prepare himself. Then we had calls with President Lam. It turns out the YSA in HK rented out a clubhouse over on the island Cheung Jau. They are going there to play from March 30 to April 1st, and Leo's baptismal date is April 1st. President tells us in this call that if Leo is ready, “organize it with the YSA council and get him baptized in the ocean!" We pulled Leo aside after church and told him the exciting news! (He's 19 by the way). He freaked out and said, "I’m not ready, no! No way! I’m soooo not ready!!" We calmed him down and promised him with the help of the ward and with our help, the Holy Ghost and Jesus Christ, he can be ready! He puffed out his chest and said, “Okay, ya, let’s do this!!" haha (: Keep him in your prayers!!

So anyway, as I’m seeing these people progress and repent it is changing my life. I found the most amazing scripture this week. It’s1 Corinthians 9:19: "For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more" This is a mission and repentance in a nutshell. As President Hinckley’s dad told him on his mission, "Loose yourself and get to work!" This requires you to "Come unto Christ" and to "be perfected in Christ". These were just phrases to me until I came on a mission and really started to learn the nature of Christ. When President Monson came out with the 2013 initiative to "Come unto Christ", he had the hope of changing all the lives of the youth in the Church. I remember being 13 and didn’t really understand what this meant. As I have been studying these words, "Come unto Christ", they have had a much more profound influence on me. I’ve learned that this can mean "come unto faith, come unto repentance, come into, love, kindness, charity, patience, diligence."

Anyway, I love you all! Really try to repent and change your nature this week. The Sacrament is the only ordinance of salvation that you take over and over for yourself, so cherish those 10 minutes you have to come unto Christ, and commit to change and be better this week than you were the week before!

Love you all!

Love, Sister Webb