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

This past week has been absolutely awesome!!  We saw some super cool miracles and had some great experiences teaching this past week!! The Lord is definitely always preparing people for us to meet! This past Thursday after weekly planning we went out finding. We were planning on turning left at a certain intersection but felt that we should turn right. There usually isn't anyone to the right but we trusted the feeling. Apart from seeing a long green snake with red around it's head, not much happened on that street. However, we then continued around the street and ran into a man named Nick. Nick is late 20's and working in insurance. He doesn't have a lot of christian background but he has gone to church a couple times in the past. He said he had actually recently wanted to start praying because he believes that God will help him find more happiness. We found a place to sit down and talked with him, got to know his desires and hopes. It was a great experience! He was super sincere and genuine in his search for answers. After sharing about the Book of Mormon and an invitation to start reading and praying, we scheduled him for 2 days later and left.  On Saturday he showed up with the Book of Mormon in hand ready to learn! He was asking some great questions and had actually already read all contents previous to 1 Nephi 1. He had also done some research at home and he knew that the church was organized in New York and due to persecution, the early members moved. He is so prepared. We shared with him the first lesson, and focused on the Godhead a lot as well. Near the end of the lesson he got a call. He excused himself and talked to them for a minute. When the call was over he said, "that was my older brother and his wife, they're walking around in the area and i just invited them to come over and talk with you!" Absolutely amazing!! That's what the gospel will do to people! Once partaking of the "fruit" the natural consequence is a desire to share it with your family! Everything lined up perfectly. The family arrived just 5 minutes before we were supposed to teach a recent convert with another member, one of the ABL's.  The Lord not only brought a family, he brought members to teach as well! We went and met the Recent Convert and Member and told them the situation and they were more than happy to come teach this new family with us! This family doesn't have any religious background so we focused on the Godhead, prayer, and families. The feelings there were incredible. They were so sincere! Could it get any better? Due to the fact that we had just finished teaching Nick the 1st lesson prior to the families arrival, we invited Nick to help us teach some of the doctrines and share some of his personal feelings! As he explained what he felt about prayer, and the Godhead to his older brother and his wife, there was definitely a special spirit there. 

Exchanges with Zone Leaders was also super special and strengthened my testimony of the Plan of Salvation even more! Having served in Sha Tin before Tuen Mun I was super excited to return and hopefully contact some of previous investigators I had taught when i was there! I felt prompted to call an investigator I had taught who prior to me leaving the area had dropped us. When I called she was more than happy to schedule for the next day. We had originally planned to share Moroni chapter 7 with her but while we were talking it felt right to go back to the restoration. We shared with her the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. She said that recently she has been going through some hard things and has been very confused. Her relationship with God isn't as strong as it was previously. She said that when we called and scheduled her she was very excited to come back. She said there was always a special feeling at our church, she described it as a peaceful feeling. At the end of the lesson when we invited her to read the Book of Mormon and pray she was more than willing! She was also more than willing to start meeting with the missionaries again!! Such a huge miracle!! The Lord definitely knows each one of us, His children. His plan is perfect!!

Til next week!
Love, Elder Zach Cederlof

We were reading through Preach my Gospel and trying to find some ways to change up our finding. Normally when finding, we start conversations by saying hello or how are you. Reading through Preach my Gospel, made me think, hey instead of starting with the things that most salesman start with, let's go straight into testimony! At first it felt a little weird to not necessarily even start with a "hello" but literally go straight into testimony and teaching. But I do feel that it has brought a difference. There is a difference in the people we talk to but also in myself. I find it more refreshing. For example, normally trying to stop 10 people, you then get the opportunity to share testimony with 5 of them.  The others walk away before getting the opportunity. However, when the first things we share with them is our testimony, we then get the opportunity to share with 10/10 people. It has personally given me even more energy, cause as we all know, sharing our testimony brings energy!

 

It has been an awesome opportunity to be district leader over here! Our district is really developing strong unity! One thing that I believe has made a big difference is that we are praying for each other and our investigators! At district meeting we write a list on the board of the investigators that we will all be praying for that week! 

 

My testimony and gratitude have continued to grow, especially towards the Plan of Salvation and the knowledge that God truly does have a plan for me. Outside of just being one big plan for all of mankind, it is also a plan, specifically for me. I have found evidences of that truth all around me. I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but it is a discovery I made within the last couple weeks upon pondering this subject of God's plan for me. In the first couple moves of my mission I remember saying that I wanted to have the opportunity to be a part of opening up a new area/ward. I also wanted to be up as close to mainland as possible. While pondering over my mission experience, that memory was brought back to me; a humbling moment. God is the creator of this great and marvelous plan for me!

 

Til next week,

Love, Elder Cederlof