Elders of Taichung! |
Dear Family and Friends,
So other than batting the cold we were
battling to find some new investigators. We are looking forward to the
baptism of Brother Xu this week, and look forward to helping his two sons work
towards baptism in the coming weeks. Being on the downhill end of
the mission with only a few months left, I've been pondering a lot lately on
how I can exert all I have to establish and strengthen the church in PuLi, as
well as in my own life. I thought and thought and thought, and ended up setting
a bunch of goals for the things I want to accomplish as a missionary in the
year 2013, as well as for the rest of the year. Meaningful goals and
careful planning are critical to accomplish our desires in life. As the
new year rolls around it is a great time to ponder on what we have accomplished
in the previous year, and where we can improve for the upcoming year.
As I have pondered on the year of 2012 I have made some goals to help me
magnify my calling and to see real growth within the branch here in PuLi and in
my own life in the gospel. The point I want to focus on today is faith.
I hope this doesn't feel like a talk, I just want to write something for
you all. Faith is the first principle of the gospel, and leads us to take
action. It leads us to repent, it leads us to serve, it leads us to live
better lives. The scriptures have many examples who show great faith:
Nephi, Ether, Alma, Ammon, etc... and I love each of their examples.
One scripture in particular I like is Moroni 7:33, "And Christ hath
said: If ye will have faith in me ye shall have power to do whatsoever thing is
expedient in me." Woah, that is a wonderful promised blessing.
If we have faith, we can accomplish anything. I hope that at we all
can reflect on this past year and set goals for the year 2013, and then act in
faith to accomplish these goals. Setting goals, making plans, and taking
actions have helped me progress as an individual in the gospel, and I know it
can help you all too. Spencer, look at your email for a special letter :)
I know that with faith we can accomplish great things. I know that
as we have faith, repent, and obey the gospel of Jesus Christ, we will
experience true happiness in our lives and with our families forever.
It's true, "By small and simple things are great things brought to
pass." I love you all!
With Tons of Love,
Elder Nick Smith
司馬長老