I am so grateful to hear from you each week. I'm excited to receive your letters. My first week with Elder Samuels has been wonderful. He has just finished training, so he has been out for a little less than Elder Jiao. We had a really cool experience this week. We went to visit a recent Chinese convert in our ward, Sister "K". We have been worried that she hasn't been attending church often. My goal was further than that, however. I was determined to find new investigators, because Sister "K" lives with some other people. We met her friend "E", and her husband. We actually had the opportunity to teach "E" with Sister "K" there. "E"'s husband was busy entertaining the children. What a wonderful family. "E" is due for labor any day now! After she delivers, she will have two daughters. She was really open to learning more about God. We taught her about the prophet Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon. We invited her to pray at the end of the lesson. She offered a simple, heartfelt prayer in Chinese. I was struggling to understand, but the spirit filled the room. It was a miracle.
Lately, I have been contemplating a scripture that I read in the Doctrine and Covenants. It stood out to me. D&C 5:14 "And to none else will I grant this power, to receive this same testimony among this generation, in this the beginning of the rising up and the coming forth of my church out of the wilderness—clear as the moon, and fair as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners." Every time I read this verse, I get goosebumps. I know that the Lord gave power to Joseph Smith in order to bring His church out of the wilderness. This verse impressed me so much that I decorated my planner with the verse of scripture on it and found pictures of Captain Moroni to use as the background.
Elder Lawrence, who just spoke at this conference, will be touring our mission in a couple of weeks. I loved his talk. Sometimes, as we ask God for what we can do to improve, the Spirit whispers something totally unexpected and surprising- like clean your room.
I love you all and hope to hear from you soon.
Love,
Elder Herbert