... They Lived After the Manner of Happiness!

Dear Family and Friends, 

I hope and pray that all of you had a wonderful Christmas.  This Christmas was very special.  I gave  

me opportunities to ponder upon the life of our Savior.  This Christmas I was filled with gratitude and joy. What a joyous message!!  over 2000 years ago a Savior was born.  For us.  That is so awesome!!  This week it was so great to talk to you all.  I loved seeing all of your faces and hearing the same funny jokes that I was still hearing before I left. hahaha!  Some things just never change... ;) hahaha!  Anyways... here is how the week went!

Elder Cox and Elder Redding

This week I went on an exchange with Elder Pun.  He is from Salt Lake and that was a lot of fun.  We were able to teach this one new investigator and President Rao was there with us.  President Rao is such a stud.  He just knows how to share truths about the gospel.  We were very grateful to have him.  We invited her to pray to God just to even know if He is there.  She accepted the invitation.  We have followed up with her and she still doesn't feel like she has gotten an answer but she is willing to keep trying.  We are hoping and praying that she can receive and answer.  

Elder Redding as Santa at Branch Christmas Party

This week Elder Cox and I decided to travel to one of our further secondary areas to go and look for LA members.  It was such a huge miracle.  We started biking and ended up in these fields and we didn't really know where we were... hahah so we just kept heading North because we knew that was the was that we needed to head! haha! Well we got there and didn't get lost.  So when we got there we went to this place that sells frogs to eat! haha!  We ate lunch and then started to search for these people.  As we were searching we decided to get a map... because asking people these random addresses were just taking to all these places that were really far away and it was taking a lot of time.  I wasn't sure about the idea of getting a map at first because I didn't want to waste the time sitting down finding where all these people were when I thought  that we might as well just keep asking people... because we were finding success.  We decided to buy the map anyways and sat down and started mapping out all of the people that lived in this secondary. (北港 beigang) It took a while to map it all out but it was worth it.  It gave us a clear vision of where we wanted to go.  So we decided to start in this corner of the city and work our way down.  Well... the first house that we went to... there was no one there and the phone number was bad.  So we started asking neighbors if these people lived there.  Luckily asking these neighbors bought us enough time so that when we went back to their home they had returned.  It wasn't actually the person we were looking for but it was his sister in law.  She told us that he was in Canada, and that she had met missionaries before.  She had 3 little kids with her and it was cool.  We got her number and she agreed to let us come back and visit her family... just like in Canada.  Well.. when we left I had such a weird feeling.  I felt like we needed to stay there and continue to talk to them.  We went of and started contacting this older couple who was really awesome.  However the whole time we were contacting them I just kept feeling like we needed to go back and see that family and wait with them until they could get in there home.  Finally I was convinced that we were going to go to 7 and buy a little treat for the kids and wait and talk to them until they got the key.  Right then the older couple gave us these couple sodas... and I just felt like we needed to rush back to their home.  Right when we got there someone was just heading in the house.  However it wasn't her... it was her brother.  We told him that we just wanted to give these sodas to the little kids so they didn't have to wait so long and be bored... haha.  Right then he called his sister and then they ended up inviting us in to have dinner with them.  We then were better able to understand them and even share with them.  We had a prayer and taught their 12 year old son how to pray.  He said the closing prayer.  It was such a huge miracle!!!  There were so many things that led up to that that allowed us to be there  at just ther right time.  God loves his children.  I know that to be true.  

Christmas was awesome.  I even got to be Santa Clause!!! hahahaha!!! Our branch loved it.  I will send you guys some pictures.  I love you all so much.

This week I read about Nephi.  I read about how Nephi and his people "lived after the manner of happiness".  I know that this is a direct result of following the commandments and being obedient.  "I  the Lord am bound when you do what I say, but when you do not what I saw ye have no promise. "  The blessings that the Lord has promised us are so great.  We can't even comprehend them! I love you all.  Live after the manner of happiness!! :) 

Elder Redding