(Hometeaching is a practice in our Church where two priesthood holders are assigned to regularly visit the homes and care for a small number of assigned families in our congregation)
Jian is from mainland China and has been in Australia for the last 4-5 years. He completed his Masters Degree in Information Management last year and is now working as a Web Developer. He is a great young guy and we have great experiences together as we visit our assigned families each month, hear what they have been up to and share a short message with them.
Jian joined our Church (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) about 20 months ago and we often have many conversations about aspects of living the Gospel and it is great to see the light of understanding come across his face when he learns something new.
Well, I found out it was Jian's birthday on Friday and I wanted to do something special for him as he has been away from his family and friends for a number of years. I found out he had never played golf before so we went to the local Golf Driving range where I helped him hit his 'first' golf ball. We then went back to our place where we had a birthday cake with Elaine and the kids - candles, singing happy birthday etc. The kids gave him birthday cards they had made themselves (he loves our kids and they love talking to him too) and we watched a 'Jet Li' Martial Arts movie in our home theatre to finish the night (Hero). Jian was very excited as apparently it is true story from China.
It was humbling to hear Jian tell me on the way home that it was one of his best birtday's ever and certainly since he has been in Australia - he had never really celebrated it here as he was away from family and friends.
What a wonderful experience for such a simple act of hitting some golf balls, eating cake and watching a DVD. It reminded me of how much difference we can make in people's lives by just taking the time to let them know we care...
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