Like always, the weeks keep going by faster and faster! This past week I had some super cool and enlightening experiences.

This past week we have started working with another part member family! The Yuh family. The dad is a member, the mom is not. They also have a baby on the way! When we met with them we got to know Sister Yuh's background. She in fact has met with the missionaries before but stopped meeting with them because she didn't have enough time. We have faith that now is the proper time for her and her husband to truly become one! Our message and invitation was simple, we invited them to start praying together as a family. An invitation that took me back down "memory lane"! I love being able to share that with them because I know how important doing those things as a family is. I've been super blessed to have parents that have helped me learn and understand the reasons and power behind family prayer, family scripture study, and family home evening. So, in short, it's a treat to be able to share those experiences with families!

Another super cool experience came as we crossed paths with an "old friend." It was actually the first time I've ever met this person, but a couple months ago Elder Tseng and Elder Anderson ran into him. He is pretty against the way the Lord runs his missionary program. He was talking about how we need to spend thousands of dollars to get the nicest of everything, and we needed to be current in the world news and stuff going on. He talked a lot about how if we really want to get as many people as possible, we've got to fit in with the world. From a surface level perspective, his arguments might seem pretty good. Fortunately, with the gift of the Holy Ghost, we can see things at a much deeper level. God has a purpose in all of His things. There is a reason God called a young, uneducated, 14 year old boy to restore His church. There is a reason the Lord calls 18 and 19 year olds to serve missions, not only that, but sometimes not even in their native tongue. There is a reason for all of these things. We shared about the Restoration but he wasn't too interested and we parted ways. Although we weren't able to reschedule or even get his phone number, we showed him how much the Lord truly does love His children; along with that, my testimony was strengthened quite a bit as a result.

Along with that experience came a more clear understanding of the difference the gift of the Holy Ghost brings. Having received that gift when I was 8, I felt that maybe I was overlooking some of the blessings that that brings. I was pondering about it for quite some time when we had the above experience. Later in my studies, after putting the pieces together, I learned for myself some of the blessings of the Holy Ghost that I had overlooked before. The Holy Ghost is there to guide us. Not only will he bring things to our memory, he will expound our memory. Not only will He help us understand concepts, He will teach us so clearly that we can't misunderstand. (borrowing a phrase from Preach my Gospel) To say the least, I'm very grateful for this past week's experiences!
Til next week!
Love, Elder Zach Cederlof

Nick is still continuing to do super awesome! He is reading a lot and has already finished 1 Nephi. We've talked about baptism before with him but we prepared that lesson on the atonement and then shared about baptism ( the way to use that power)  He definitely understands the need to be baptized but when we tried to set a date he said it was too fast and that he wanted to go home and ponder/pray about it.

Eric and Kawa were out of town this past week and so we weren't able to meet with them but they scheduled for church. Unfortunately Sunday morning they had some things come up and messaged and said they couldn't come. But on the bright side we have them scheduled for this upcoming week! 

   

One thing we have really been working on is organization of things we do here and working more with part member families. We are now working with 3 part member families and I know we will see some great success there. Not only bring people to Christ but bring their entire family, a strengthening unit. 

 

Wai Ki got baptized yesterday!! Super awesome! It was such a great day and opportunity, especially for her family. Her mom shared a spiritual thought at the service and it was awesome!! She talked about the big changes in their family and in all of their lives! I love being able to see the change that the gospel brings not only in my own life but in the lives of the investigators and members!

 

Love, Elder Zach Cederlof

General Conference was awesome!! So many different things learned. I really liked the big focus on families especially on the Saturday sessions! Families are what we are here for! They play such a critical role in God's Plan of Salvation for each and every one of us. Giving family priority is so important! Those talks has made me ponder more about things I can either continue to do, or start doing to more better prepare myself for that sacred role.  I also really enjoyed the talks that were on "truly being converted." It made me ask myself some good thought provoking questions such as the reason behind things. Are we doing what we are doing just because it is 'expected' of us? What is the real motive behind the work we do? Is it simply so people "think" we are good, trying our best? I thought back to the example in the scriptures which teaches that if a man gives a gift grudgingly, it is as if he hasn't given it at all. In missionary work, if I'm not fully committed, giving my all, it comes down to the same principle. Although as the "unprofitable servant" (as the scriptures teach) that I am, I hope that through the goals I have set from General Conference I will be able to show the Lord more about how much I truly care for this work! I love the opportunity God has given me to listen to his Living Prophets on the earth! Recently my testimony and love for Joseph Smith has grown a lot. I have been trying to learn more about his life and what he went through, definitely a powerful example and a strong building block in my own testimony.

I had the opportunity to hold my first baptismal interview. I interviewed Sheung Shui sister's investigator. What an awesome opportunity to sit down and discuss the covenant of baptism. It was a special moment as we discussed about the meaning of taking upon ourselves Christ's name and discussing the interview questions. It was an experience I won't forget!

I am so grateful to be District Leader over here! All the members of the District are such strong examples. I have learned a lot from this experience. One of the things that has been emphasized to me over and over is that this really is God's work. He doesn't require the best Cantonese, or the teaching skills or anything. He just requires the best that we can give. I'm grateful for this learning opportunity!

 'Til Next week,
 Love, Elder Cederlof

Pictures!

The "District"
 

This past week we have continued to see some really big miracles!!  This last week we met with Eric and Kowa again. We invited the Ng family to help us teach (they were baptized last July).  Actually, that day, Kowa couldn't come til the very end, so we mostly just taught Eric. Not having any religious background we knew we would definitely need to be as clear and simple as possible. We shared about the Restoration. He had such good questions and it was awesome to have Brother and Sister Ng there with us cause their testimonies are so strong and they shared about their conversion! Eric was also willing to do the closing prayer!! A couple days later we were then able to meet with Nick. (Eric's younger brother-age 28) We shared the Plan of Salvation with Nick! What an awesome lesson! He said it just made so much more sense than all the other things he has heard. He was asking awesome questions as well! Aside from that he had also read to 1 Nephi chapter 16! He is so willing and wanting to learn and come unto Christ!  We invited their whole family (Eric + his wife, Nick, Nick and Eric's mom, Mrs. Jeung) to come to church! We called Saturday night to make sure and Nick said they were all planning on coming! The next morning after Ward Council, we asked Bro. Ng to meet them at the bus stop so that we could stay at the church and greet members. He left and shortly returned after, without them. He said he had called them and they weren't able to catch the bus so he told them to take a taxi. He told us to continue and he would take care of it and make sure they got there. Such awesome members! They came and sat down with us! Their entire family! When we first invited Nick and Kawa to church they weren't sure if they could come when it started because their 11 month old daughter usually doesn't wake up til 10, but they made it! They stayed all 3 hours and loved it! They participated in gospel principles class and Nick in priesthood, while talking about how the church values family history, brought up that Lehi commanded his sons to go back to Jerusalem to get the records! Such a prepared family! After church they said they would definitely be coming next week for conference!! Such a huge blessing! The Lord really is pushing forward his work! Families are so important! They can help each other learn and grown and stay close to the Gospel of Jesus Christ!  Miracles Miracles Miracles!! I've grateful for the opportunity to be here in Sheung Shui finding my family!

 'til next week,

 Love, Elder Cederlof