Dearest Family and Friends,
I hope you are all doing well, and that you are happy and safe!
I just heard about the shooting at the Navy Yard this morning. It makes me so sick to think about it. I am glad that Greg is okay, but my heart aches for those affected by it. The elders said that the Navy Yard is in our area, so we are calling our President to see if the suspect has been caught at this point, and what he would like us to do this evening. I am grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ because I don't think I would have true peace or hope without it.
This week was exactly as the subject of this e-mail says. A week of blessing and miracles!! It was manifest to me that this is truly the Lord's work and He is in control. We are just instruments in His hands. We were blessed to have been able to find 6 new investigators and 2 of them are already progressing! I felt like there were so many days where we left everything on the field, if you will, and we truly gave the Lord our everything! The Lord gives you the capacity to do what He calls you to do, and I feel my capacity and strength in doing this work, growing. Mom talked about the enabling power of the Atonement in her e-mail today, and I'm realizing that that's the source of the strength. I feel like I am changing through this work, and I hope so much that I am!
Here is a quick look at our week!
MONDAY - We were hit with rejection after rejection while street contacting but then we met some really great people! We met a boy named Cage (it's so cute and funny what names Chinese people choose for their English names) and he is from China! We taught him a lesson on the sidewalk the best that we could, for there was a really big language barrier. We pretty much pointed to sections of the Chinese Book of Mormon and asked him to read them. It was amazing though because when he read Moroni 10:3-5 in Chinese, I still felt the Spirit so strongly! We also met a lady named Tina, who said she was having a really hard time in life. We gave her a copy of the Book of Mormon and she asked for some chapters that were about peace. She was such a genuinely kind and sweet person! At first I was really intimidated to stop her, but she was so open. I am learning to not pass anyone off that you see, for you never know what they are going through.
TUESDAY - An absolutely incredible day!!! We had zone training which was fantastic and we made a big hairy audacious goal (BHAG) as a zone to get 35 baptisms by the end of October! We have no one on date currently, but we have faith and passion that this can happen!! We met a girl from China named Joanna, and she said that she was looking for a bible study group. We invited her to insitute and got her contact information, and you will see her name later in the e-mail! We also met a lot of people who only spoke Spanish, so we again got to practice Spanish. Serving here makes me want to learn every language in the world, but especially Spanish and Chinese! We also met a boy named Pei and had a lesson with him on the sidewalk! He is Chinese and he was so excited about it all! He told us that he was going to pray and try really hard to feel that it was true! You will also see him many times in this e-mail! While teaching him, we had a grown man stick his tongue out at us. That was fun.
That night two members treated us to Cafe Rio! We then did some more street contacting and saw our friend, Svetlana, who is from Russia! We see her all the time and she is so sweet! She wants to set us up with her Russian grandson who lives in Maryland :)
WEDNESDAY - Zone conference day! I loved this day so much because I love being around our mission president. He feels like a fatherly figure, and it is always the best day when you get to hear from him. We went street contacting that night and met a woman from Colombia named Yvonne. We sat down with her and taught her the restoration at the aprk!
THURSDAY - A crazy hot day!! We met a nice woman outside, and helped her carry her bags up to her apt. Her name was Tong and she was a Chinese journalist, so she took our picture afterwards because she was so touched by us helping her! Kindness and love are powerful things!
We also met a girl from China named Ivonne and an African American man named Steve. He said that he is coming to church next Sunday, so I'll give you an update on our friend Steve next week
We also visited our sweet friend Alma, whom I am sending a picture of next week!! We then met up with a woman from Ethiopia named Marta, and gave her an Amharic Book of Mormon! She is such a fantastic person and I feel so much love for her.
That night we had dinner with a family from Hawaii and had sweet kalua pork! I am finding that I crave meat now because we don't eat it that much, since my companion is vegetarian. Maybe that is a sign that I need more protein, but needless to say, the pork was delicious and that has become one of my favorite foods!
FRIDAY - NATS GAME DAY!!!! Before the game we did two member visits and we talked to a homeless man named Lee! He was great!
The NATS game was so much fun!! I felt a little guilty for being there because it was so long and we didn't get home til 11:30, but it was so great! I got to see all of the people I grew close to in the MTC and we talked for a while. I didn't actually watch much of the game, but they won so everyone was happy!! We went to bed at midnight that night which was crazy, and I am no longer used to that at all! The 6:30 am wakeup call was a little difficult on Saturday morning, but the Lord blessed us with energy!!
SATURDAY - So much happened today!!! This was one of the best days of my mission so far!! We first went to a pancake breakfast with Joanna (the Chinese girl who wanted to join a study group) that was at the Methodist church. They had something called Psalms 23 on 23rd Street that day, and had lots of different events at different churches. The pancake breakfast was great, and there were actually a lot of single LDS people there that Joanna got to meet.
Later on we went to an ice cream social with Pei (Chinese boy we met earlier in the week). Turns out his English name is Darcy, which I thought was so cute and funny! The social was at the baptist church and he loved it. We talked to a lot of other Chinese people there and they tried to teach me Chinese. They laughed whenever I tried to say the Chinese words, and they were so great. I just want to be best friends with all these people, but I know that's not what I'm here for!
We then had a lesson with Bipin! We met him earlier that week, and I think he is from Ethiopia! The lesson was amazing and he is amazing!
We then had a lesson with Pei at a member's home, and Pei was so happy there! He loved it so much! The husband in the family spoke Chinese, which was also a blessing!!!
SUNDAY - The day that Pei comes to church!! He came in a suit and tie and loved it so much! You could tell that he was trying so hard to do everything right, and he sang all the hymns with us. He told us that he felt the Spirit and when we left he said that he'd see us next week. He is just the cutest person, and he still seems like a little boy to me. He has so much faith and is truly coming to know it's true.
We met a man from Honduras named Edwin that night. He was so great and so open! The Spirit was so strong, even as we were just talking to him. He was just incredible!!
P-Day is over in 10 minutes, so I better go!!! I love you all so much! You are all seriously so fantastic!!
Love,
Sister Chelsea Marie Akin
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