Wo Ai Nimen!

Family!
I’m so happy that you guys are doing well. Your letters are honestly the highlight of my days in the MTC. I really miss talking to you about everything. Mom and Dad- all the time things happen and I think, “Oh my gosh! They would have the perfect thing to say right now. If I could only vent/get advice.” But, I think this is teaching me to not dwell on things that bother me. I do my best to just let them go, because really in the grand scheme of things how much does it matter that Elder Britt things Christ had three wives or that Elder Kitterman nags me to speak Zhongwen at least half as much as I do English. It doesn’t!

Qian Laoshi teaches us in the morning . We had a big grammar assessment (not a test but a “learning opportunity” (wo ai qian laoshi)). I did better than I expected to. I was happy. While he went over our results to figure out what he needs to teach or reteach I read in Doctrine and Covenants. Oh my gosh! Let me tell you my little epiphany. Chances are you guys already realized this, but I feel like a newborn in the gospel a lot of the time here, and this really opened up my eyes. In section 17 verse 9, Christ has just given council to the three witnesses. He closes by saying that what he has revealed he has done so to accomplish his righteous purposes. When I read that I realized that EVERYTHING that Heavenly Father and Christ do is for one purpose- “to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of men.” [Moses 1:39] This church is so awesome because it all comes together. Every good thing that has happened in my life has been to bring me closer to Christ and exaltation. Every blessing. Every trial. Every prompting. Every answer to prayer. How did I not realize this years ago? Now, I am here, serving a mission. My purpose is, “to invite others to come unto Christ by helping them receive the Restored Gospel through faith in Jesus Christ and his Atonement, repentance, baptism, receiving the Gift of the Holy Ghost and enduring to the end.” Duh! This should be my purpose all the time. My purpose on earth is to come to Christ and to help others do the same. Knowing this should make everything a lot easier. Most decisions I shouldn’t waiver on; all I need to do is assess “will this help me or someone else come closer to the Celestial Kingdom?” I am so blessed. We are so blessed. I am so lucky to be doing what I’m doing right now. I was blessed in the car accident, blessed in meeting Kyle, blessed in surviving last Winter, blessed to be an Ozawa, blessed to know and love my Gamma girls, blessed to be with Sister McIntosh. More than anything I am so blessed to know Christ and to feel his Atonement working in my life. It’s amazing to feel Him lifting me and loving me.
So, after this realization, we started studying our LRC task on our own and I could not stop smiling. Qian asked, “Zeng jiemei, shenma?” (Sister Ozawa, what?) I had no response beside, “Wo hen kuai le.” (I am happy.) My companion asked why. I answered, “Yinwei, wo shi chuanjiaoshi.” (Because I am a missionary.) I really am so happy to be here. I miss home, but the Lord keeps me strong. I get frustrated, but envisioning my purpose and the divine assistance I receive soothes me. I love it. I could not imagine my life without this experience. I know I’ll come home a better person than I left (if that’s possible, just kidding!).
This day only gets better… We go to the TRC/LRC to teach and Shi laoshi is super excited because her friend, who is a real investigator, is volunteering as a fake investigator. Shi assigns us to rooms. We walk to the rooms and the room we have is the room where her friend is! A real investigator! From the real country of China!! Oh my gosh! I was so scared (darn that Satan!)! I asked Shi why she did that to us. She told me that she didn’t, that Heavenly Father did. She didn’t assign her friend to our room, her friend chose it on her own. So, we taught the first lesson in Mandarin. It wasn’t perftect, but it was still bang (awesome). It was real and that was the second best part. The very best part was knowing that the Spirit was helping us to testify, to speak Zhongwen and to touch this dear sister’s heart. Her friend was gracious and humble. It was a great experience. That night Shi told us that her friend decided she wanted to get baptized!! WAY COOL! It wasn’t us. It was the Spirit. Her friend has been reading the B.O.M. and attending church. She had been hesitant because of her parents but decided she was ready to face them. I am so happy. Thinking about it makes me happy all over again.
Sunday is always my favorite day of the week (beside Monday). This Sunday was extra special because I SPOKE IN CHURCH. They call on us randomly, we all prepare but no one knows who will speak. Ah! I was so nervous. I had written my talk, on humility, that day. Luckily I had the perfect icebreaker. I had been leading the music, so I started with this little quip… “Wo xiwang nimen xihuan wo de lian, yinwei nimen keyi kandao quanbu hui.” (I hope you all like my face, you get to see it the whole meeting!) Don’t worry, it got a laugh. At first I was shaking, but as can be expected, the Spirit stepped it. The talk went really well! I was supposed to be up there for 3-5 minutes but went for ten. (The MTC has taught me how long winded I can be. Thank you, Keith! I think I got it from you.) The branch president didn’t stop me because he thought it was good. I was so happy when sacrament meeting ended. Quite a few elders told me they really felt the Spirit as I spoke. That means I am doing what I’m supposed to! I’m teaching with the Spirit! IN MANDARIN. It’s amazing! This gospel is amazing!
Beside the fact that this email reveals I really am a missionary (I can’t believe I sound the way I do)… Exciting things… New missionaries! They are so great. I’m excited to have them. They help me remember how I should be and help me see how much I’ve been blessed here. Sister Mc and I still love each other. I was reprimanded by the branch president for not making my bed. I finally got Wyatt’s address! I still need my sister Lauren’s. And the church is true. I hope you know that I know that.
I love you guys! Muah!!

Zeng