Merry Christmas to all!

                                                                                     

Family-- It was so good to skype with you today! I already want to do it again... But alas, we shall not speak face to face again until I come home. Oh well. (:

I love you all so much and I really am so glad we got to talk. Sorry I didn't speak more Chinese to you. It's okay though because my Chinese is really bad.

Oh did you write a family Christmas letter? I want to read it!!!

Thank you for all of my gifts. I especially loved the pictures! Sister Bang and I got a good laugh out of them. LOVE IT!!!

There isn't much to say about the last week and a half. It's been raining. And very very very cold. But we're still alive and that's all that matters sometimes.

This past Sunday in relief society we had a lesson about hastening the Lord's game plan. They talked about how members ought to know all the missionaries names and pray for the missionaries in their ward by name and for their investigators as well. I was really touched by that. I know that if everyone here did that for my investigators, there would be a lot more miracles and the members would learn to love our investigators. That being said-- I will tell you this. On Sunday-- go to the missionaries in their ward. Ask them the names of which investigators you could help pray for. Then pray for them. People need prayers. And I know that prayers make a big difference.

While we were skyping today, Liz asked what I was going to change about next year. I don't think I had much time to answer that. By way of missionary work-- I want to be obedient and end strong. It is very typical of missionaries to end their missions on a slump, just wanting to be home. I don't want to be that missionary. I hope that my last three transfers in Taiwan are my most successful by way of how hard I work. I finally feel like I have a good enough grasp on they way missionary work goes that I should be able to just always do better and better. I also want to be more charitable and love people more and better.

Okay lastly I want to talk about tender mercies. My personal opinion is that a tender mercy is one of those moments when you know that God loves you and is watching out for you. I was thinking recently about eternity. It is a long time. Honestly some of the mysteries of God really overwhelm me sometimes and it stresses me out. But it's tender mercies of God that keep me going. I want to share about an experience I had just recently. I've been feeling recently that I haven't had any amazingly spiritual experiences. I can feel the Holy Ghost working in my life. I can feel His direction, and I can feel God's hand in the work, but I haven't really had any big memorable experiences. I understand that God usually doesn't work through big experiences to tell us He loves us, but sometimes those experiences are nice to have. Most days, honestly, are just normal days. We do the right thing and we live according to the principles of the gospel, but we don't feel any different. God doesn't need to send a choir of angels to applaud us every time we do something good. We do good things because we know they are good and we know they are right and that we should do them. However, because God loves us, He will give us experiences that remind us of His love, and those experiences have the ability to change us and recharge us with an energy and hope that only comes from a Father in Heaven who loves us. Yesterday in particular, I had reached a point where I felt like I hadn't felt God's love for me in a while. I wondered why I desired a reassurance that He cares. We had a talent show at the missionary special Christmas activity in which three missionaries got up to sing "A Child's Prayer." They invited everyone to join in on singing for the third verse. When that time came, a choir of angels (in the form of missionaries) began to sing the words to the song. From all corners of the room, I could hear the words "Heavenly Father are you really there?" and "Pray. He is there. Speak. He is listening." The warmth of the spirit started from deep inside my heart and spread outwards filling all the holes in my soul created by doubt and fear. I couldn't keep myself from crying. It's as if Heavenly Father himself whispered in my ear, "Micaela. Just Breath. I love you and everything will be fine." That was His tender mercy that He sent to me. I know with out any doubt that God loves me. Despite my imperfections, He loves me. And as long as I do my best and follow His son, things really will be okay.

Well, family. That's it. I love you all more that I can express. I love the Savior. I love Heavenly Father. I love the Holy Ghost. I love Taiwan. I love everyone that I have been able to teach the gospel too. I love my companions. I love my mission. I love Christmas. I love being an eternal family. May we all strive to do a little better and be a little better and follow all promptings of the spirit.

Christmas is coming! (12.8.13)

FIRST I JUST HAVE TO SAY THAT WE FOUND A TIME TO CALL HOME! GET EXCITED FOR THE BEST CHRISTMAS EVE IN WASHINGTON THAT YOU'VE EVER HAD! Sorry it'll be a late evening, but be ready to skype on Christmas eve at 9:30pm. Let me just tell you. Sister Bang and I were super nervous about how this was going to work. If we can't find a way to skype then we can call from the home phone-- which would also be fine and dandy... IF WE EVEN HAD A HOME PHONE. Which we don't. It got down to crunch time. Yesterday at church we realized that we had to find someone to let us skype at their home or we would have to figure things out really last minute-- which would be tough. So had to just be brave and ask someone (which I felt terrible about). Anyway-- we went to ask this lady and it was SO AWKWARD and she was really confused about what we were talking about and I felt like I offended her big time... So then I was even more stressed until dinner that night a member referred a family to ask. We called last night when we got home and she was super willing to let us come over. SUCH A MIRACLE. I thought I would cry. SO GET READY!! TIME IS ALMOST HERE WHERE I GET TO SEE YOUR BEAUTIFUL FACES ONCE MORE AND YOU CAN SEE MY NOT SO BEAUTIFUL VERY SLEEPY FACE. And you will love it. And I will love it. And the church is true. And I AM SO EXCITED I COULD SCREAM!

The moral of the story is that God loves His missionaries. And He loves His missionaries families. I just know it.

Also cool experience where talking to an American wasn't a scary thing--- Last night when we got home, a man from North Carolina approached me while I was locking my bike up and asked where I was from and stuff. He's been in Taiwan for 15 years because his wife is Taiwanese. He was SUPER nice. And he just told me that he respects us a lot for what we're doing. He said he works for a couple different bike companies and he knows that missionaries clock a lot of time on our bikes. It was really nice of him and it was also the first time on my mission that I've talked to an American and not felt like I want to run away because it's super uncomfortable. Moral of the story: When I'm back in the states I'm totally gonna be that super awkward missionary who doesn't know how to speak proper English or talk to people who do speak proper English. EEEEK!

I only have a few things to write about this week. On Wednesday all the sisters went to Taipei for a temple tour training. Every transfer we spend a day doing Temple Grounds Tours so we have to get trained on it. It was super fun to see all those girls. (Also since my companion moved up here from Hualian she has never done temple tours-- so it was a new experience for her.) Anyway one of the best parts of Wednesday was seeing the two sisters that I trained (Sister B.  and Sister H.). I honestly love those girls to death! They both seem to be doing well-- I guess I didn't ruin them! It's cool because you can become best friends with your companions. And I have been blessed. All 6 of my companions that I've had since I entered the MTC have become some of my best friends. MISSIONS ARE THE BEST! The rest of the temple training was good too. And getting home was an adventure. Sister Bang and I are still working on how to get home in the movst effective manner. It's hard and we have traveled to and from Taipei in a different way everytime we've gone up there. It's fun.

This past Thursday we clocked some serious time on our bikes. We went to go visit this girl that the other sisters set up for us to visit. It takes just over an hour to get to her house... And thus-- just over an hour to get home. This will be something we do weekly to meet with this girl. Moral of the story: my legs are all muscle and hardly any fat. We bike A TON.

On Thursday night we had an AWESOME planning session for the next day-- probably the most effective planning session I've ever had. We planned out Friday's schedule in a lot of detail. So then we were looking forward to everything we had going on Friday. Then things started cancelling. EEEK. The two hours we had planned to do became abou five hours. So we went to the area that we intended to find in and met a lot of really unfriendly, unprepared people. But let's not focus on that-- rather let me tell you about the tender mercies that are all around us. Sister G. (another missionary in our ward.. love her) was making calls that day and called me and told me about two lessons she had scheduled for us that day. Between what we had planned and what she helped us with-- we were BUSY BUSY from 4:00pm until we went to bed that night. It was such a blessing. That day we met with 3 less active members and found 2 new investigators. I LOVE MISSIONARY WORK. The Lord blesses people who plan.

On Saturday morning we headed out early again to go to Taipei to listen to Elder Allan Packer (son of the apostle Elder Packer) speak to us. He talked to us about family history in missionary work and how we can help people feel the spirit of Elijah while finding. It was really cool and a great meeting. We look forward to applying some of the things we learned. And I'm going to do the first thing I learned and ask all of you (and all of my friends and family who read this). Think about a lesson you learned from a family member-- whether someone living or an anscestor you have. Okay now send it to me. I want to read it! Yay! I LOVE FAMILIES (:

Then Saturday evening we had a stake christmas music fireside that we sang at with the ward choir. The best part though was that I got to see J. Ya'll don't know her-- but let me just say SHE IS THE GREATEST GIRL IN THE ENTIRE WORLD AND I LOVE HER SO MUCH! And ya'll will too when you meet her someday.

Something else that I have thought about a lot this week is teaching. Remember how I've changed my major in college about a million times? Well I won't change it again. I'm really excited to be a teacher. The more I think about it, the more excited I get. I hope to work in a bilingual program in Chinese and English. But mostly I'm just super excited to teach. I want to be that teacher who is always improving the way I teach and helps children find the joy in learning new things and learn how to learn. I want to be the teacher that people look back and remember the year they were in my class and have a greater desire to do good and improve themselves. I hope that I can do my small part to make a difference in someone's life. That's what I'm trying to do out here and what I want to do for my whole life. People are special. Everyone you look at is a child of God. I feel so lucky to be in the presence of children of God everyday. Next time you look at someone-- try to see them how God sees them. You will learn to appreciate them more and have a more sincere desire to love and serve them.

Another thing that I've learned this week was from reading General Conference talks. Something that President Uchtdorf said really touched me. "Our destiny is not determined by the number of times we stumble, but rather by the number of times we get up, dust off, and move forward." This life is full of stumbles and mistakes (some big and some small). Let us not look at our mistakes except to learn from them. It much better to look forward. It's much better to look up. I am a firm believer that the past is the past. It is not something to be dwelt in, but rather to learn from. I know that God loves all of His children. I think this is perfect for the Christmas season. What is Christmas all about? Christ came to this earth to atone for us so that we wouldn't have to look back at our lives and feel regret. He died for us so that we can get up, dust off, and move forward. We all have things that we aren't proud of-- now is the time to fully accept the Savior and His atonement in our lives and change. Is there a better time to change then right now? No. There isn't. So I want to sincerely invite everyone-- look at yourself. Be honest with yourself. Find the things you want to change and don't wait any longer. You can do it. God loves you. Jesus Christ loves you.

I apologize that my emails since the beginning of my mission have changed from describing funny experiences to a vague/brief explanation of my week and a long description of my feelings on life. (: But also I'm not sorry. These things are important. I love you all so much. If you knew how much I loved you-- you probably would think I was crazy! I hope all of my family and friends knows with complete assurity-- I know that Jesus Christ is my Savior. I know He lives. I know He loves us. I know God is our Heavenly Father. I know He lives. I know He loves us. I know that this life is not easy. They never said it would be easy-- but it is worth it. I know that someday we will all completely overcome any and all temptations. But until that day-- we must do all we can to repent of our mistakes and not make anymore. I know that all people can change.

Okay I'm just going on an on now. Everyone reading this do me a favor--- find someone that I know and give them a hug for me. Tell them I love them and that God loves them.

I love you all. I miss you all. Never stop reading the Book of Mormon. Never stop praying. Never stop sharing this glad message with other people. Fear not.

Lastly-- my altime favorite scripture: Doctrine and Covenants 123:16-17.

I just wanna dance!

Please note: I am craving a dance party. I hope that next summer will be full of them. DANCE PARTY EVERY SATURDAY NIGHT! Holla!!!

Something that I learned this week. Taoyuan (that's where I live.. ish) means peach garden. I'm very happy here in the peach garden. Mmmm (:

Okay now for the good stuff. This week has been good. We've done a lot of finding (or looking rather, for investigators). We're hoping to find a lot of people to share the gospel with. It's tough sometimes-- but it's working. We found 5 new investigators this week. Wanna know how? We talk to people on the street and hope they will listen. Sometimes it's super hard because you just stop people when they are rushing here and there. But it's okay sometimes. We also have people come to our English class and then want to meet with us. Things are moving here.

Cool experience: We were contacting people on this one street for a long time and not really getting anywhere. So we sat down for a minute and this lady came up and contacted us. She asked what we were doing. We talked to her for a minute and she invited us to come to her house two days later to share the gospel with her. She is super great and has two really adorable daughters. LOVE THAT FAMILY ALREADY!

The other day we biked wicked far away. About an hour away. We wanted to see other parts of our area... well there was nothing out there. So knocked a few houses and found a new investigator for the Elders and a family that lives in a different area that we referred to some other missionaries. It was a successful day. The best part: we found investigators for other people so we really don't have to go out that far again!

Last Monday was awesome. My companion and I went to Costco with a member and got BAGELS!!!! I love bagels. It's been a long time since I've eaten anything remotely American. I LOVE AMERICA AND AMERICAN FOOD. And I also love Taiwan. After our time at Costco we cleaned up our apartment and set up our Christmas tree. We've finally turned our icky apartment into a cute home. I love it so much! Sister Bang and I are obsessed with our home and Christmas. We listen to Christmas music everyday and I wear Christmas socks during studies and WE DRINK HOT CHOCOLATE! Mmmm (: AND WE ATE KRAFT MACARONI AND CHEESE FOR LUNCH YESTERDAY!

Last Monday evening we went to the night market here in nankan (which is super fun) and we handed out English flyers (which ultimately led to a woman and her son coming to English class and becoming new investigators). It was fun. Also all the girls we squealing about Elder Seneca. It was hilarious. One lady even bought food and gave it to him. People love him here. My companion  decided that E. Seneca should invite girls to English class, I should invite boys, and she should invite the children. Lol.

English class on Wednesday was good. Except for the creepy man from the advanced class who comes to our class because he wants to learn english from Blonde American females. NASTY. Next week we're gonna tell him to switch classes. I've told him already and he's refused. If he refuses again then we'll probably tell him not to come back..? He makes other students feel uncomfortable. Ewwwww.

Honestly there isn't much to write about. Things are just moving here. We talk to everyone and we obey the rules. That's the key to missionary work. I love my companion a lot. I love the people we are teaching the gospel to. I love it when people realize that the Book of Mormon is true.

I know these things are true. I love the scripture Ether 12:41. I invite everyone to do the same. Learn of Christ. Listen to the words of the prophets-- they are true.

I'm sorry I didn't have much to say today about my week. I guess I can share with ya'll my thoughts on life. I think that everyone we meet and every experience we have in life can change and teach us something if we are just willing to let it. I know that the same God who placed the trees in the forest, the fish in the see, and the stars in the sky loves me and placed me where I am to learn and grow. He allows us to run into the things in life that will teach us-- whether good or a little bit difficult to overcome. And that same God-- who loves us very very much-- sent His son Jesus Christ to earth to show us the way to learn and grow and return to live with Him again. I have learned a lot on my mission. I have learned a lot about myself and who I am and who I want to be. And I have learned that we must love everyone and be tolerant and respectful of everyone regardless of their actions and situations. Please note: the future of Micaela Anderson is bright and full of love, happiness, and opportunities to learn and grow. I look forward to that. I look forward for every growing experience Heavenly Father has in store for me.

My companion and I were talking last night about this: There are only two kinds of people in this world-- the ones you love, and the ones you just don't know yet. I believe that everyone in this world has worth and if we take the time to learn about them and see things from their perspective we can learn to love then despite any differences. We are all children of God. We all have temptations and we all have weaknesses. And we all have the Savior. So before you judge someone just because they are different then you-- look at how God sees them.

It's interesting-- I had a conversation with a member recently and she was telling me about this really rich family. She told me that their life must be so good because they have money and they don't need to work-- they can just go play all day everyday. She made their life sound perfect. Well she's wrong. Everyone has problems-- we just don't always see them. So before we covet the lives of other peoples-- we must realize that if we switched positions with them we would not just get their blessings, but inherit their problems as well. I don't think anyone would want that. Rather we ought to just follow the example of the Savior and deal with our things and be grateful for our blessings. 

Maybe I'm just rambling and none of this means anything to anyone or makes sense. It's hard to sum up everything I've learned in just a few paragraphs. Moral of the story: My outlook on life has grown and changed a lot on my mission. I just hope that everyone can know-- you are a child of God. He loves you. You are special.

Cold, Very Cold

First things first: TAIWAN IS THE COLDEST PLACE IN THE ENTIRE WORLD AND I AM FREEZING! Not even kidding the hardest part about this week has been that I am frozen. I'm like a little ice cube running around. And our apartment is on the 23rd floor-- aka freezing point. We finally caved and bought a heater on Thursday and that makes things a little better... but I still wear a lot of clothes to bed at night and I walk around our apartment with a blanket. Now I really need to buy gloves... But I'm alive and my body functions and so the missionary work has pressed on. This week has been full of miracles!

 

***Please note: In the computer cafe I am sitting in there is a large fat man sitting across from me... and he is snoring SO LOUDLY. It's distracting.... But he is also a child of God so I need to quit judging him...***

 

This week was full of miracles and a few good stories.

 

First we didn't get desks to study with until two days ago-- so we had to go home and put them all together.. However we also don't have a screwdriver--- so we used a fork that we found in the apartment. Yes-- my companion and I don't need tools to be successful. A fork will do. Hooray for being innovative!

 

Also we were trying a new way of contacting people. We bike to an intersection and stop at the red light and talk to the people on scooters around us.. then instead of going forward with them, when the light turns green we move onto the intersecting street and stop at that stoplight and contact the people there.. then we repeat and see who we can find who is interested in the gospel. We picked a bad interestion though with an impatient taxi driver. NOT EVEN KIDDING THE VERY SECOND THE LIGHT TURNED GREEN HE WANTED TO GO. As in he started honking his horn (which is the most annoying thing in the world)... AND THEN HE RAN INTO MY BIKE. Not hard-- just enough to express his incredible amount of impatience and the fact that he's probably the most immature child of God in the world. Okay I'm getting grumpy just thinking about him... so I'll move on. That way of contacting is entertaining-- and also super scary because talking to people on scooters is hard. If they don't want to listen they just pull forward-- or they put their hand up... and everyone sees them reject you. At the same time though it's necessary-- I've heard of a lot of people meeting missionaries the first time on their scooters at a stop light.

 

That man was a turd though.

 

So-- remember when I went to Bade and didn't know where I was going because it was the first time there were sisters there in a really long time? Well yes-- we got lost a lot. And of course we can expect a similar outcome here too. Sister Bang and I got wicked lost the other day. I had no idea where we were and I kept seeing signs for Bade. I could've made a run for it and headed to my old area and visited people there. But obviously I didn't. We did bike around aimlessly for over an hour though. I'm usually not too bad with finding my way around here-- but this was hard. We biked all over. Finally we stopped at a 7 (7-11) and I asked directions. (: (: We were super far out of our way-- but it was a simple fix. Hooray. We're alive still.

 

Anyway Thanksgiving was good too. The Z family invited us all over for dinner. Well back up. My companion and I treated ourselves to steak for lunch. We also bought a heater so we wouldn't freeze to death. Then we had our three hour weekly planning session. So it was business as usual. Then we biked to Z family home. They fed us super yummy thanksgiving dinner. Also-- something that I love about Taiwanese people is that if they are going for an American style dinner they always make pasta for a side dish. Dinner consisted of rolls, chicken, potatoes, broccoli (delicious), pumpkin soup... and two pasta dishes. A random, yet delicious addition. Then we had pumpkin cake for dessert. SO SO SO SO SO SO YUMMY! I  They are a good family and I appreciate their willingness to take care of us.

 

Also-- Christmastime I can skype home. It'll probably be Christmas morning for me so Christmas Eve evening for ya'll... It's not worked out yet though because I don't know where we'll skype. I'm hoping we can go to a members home to skype-- but they have to offer-- we can ask to impose on them. Otherwise we can't do it. And the internet cafe I don't think has the option of a web cam. So start praying for that to work out. I have no further details.

 

This past Friday we intended to bike way out to the beach and contact in that area because we had a whole day of free time, but then that morning we were told that the Bishops family would be setting up the Christmas tree at the church and wanted the missionaries there and then wanted to feed us after. So my companion and I decided to search for places to knock on doors. Not knowing where there would be doors to knock we just headed down this large road with our eye out. We biked for a while and realized we weren't getting anywhere and there was nothing around. So eventually we just decided to turn right onto another really long road. After biking for another few minutes we found 6 doors. Yes. We biked so far away just to find only 6 doors. And so we do what we intended. 6 doors isn't really anything-- unless someone is willing to let you in. We knocked on the first door and were rejected immediately. Then the next two weren't home. Then we saw the last door had a young child running around so we headed over to talk to whoever was taking care of her. It was her mom. The family is traditional buddhist-- but has some Christian friends and doesn't discriminate just because of religious beliefs. We started to share a little bit with the mom about families. Since it was freezing outside she invited us in to sit. We just introduced more about what we were sharing and how the gospel has blessed our lives and talked to her about prayer. We asked if we could say a pray with her and she was willing. My companion then prayed and blessed their family. When she was finished-- LJM was in tears. The spirit was really strong. She was really touched that we could come find her when it is so cold outside and that we want to bless her family. It was a crazy miracle and such a blessing. She became one of 5 new investigators that we found this week. IT'S BEEN A GREAT WEEK.

 

Opening a new area takes a lot of thought and you have to run a lot of errands. We've been really busy. I think the best thing that we did this week is that during our study time in the morning we practice teaching eachother and teaching together. My companion and I are doing really well at teaching in unity and it's been a huge blessing because we teach and find a lot.

Most important thing to remember is that THE CHURCH IS TRUE. I'm so happy out here and I love Taiwan.

Keep reading your scriptures.

Go to the temple often.

Hello All You Beautiful People!

This has been an eventful week. Since I knew last week that I was moving I had some time to say bye to people. But that definitely didn't make it any easier. On Wednesday I had to say bye to one of my favorite people in Bade after English class. It was so hard and I just wanted to cry and cry. The toughest thing about saying bye to people is that you have no idea when you're going to see them again. It hurt my heart. But the people in Bade know that I love them and I will not lose contact with them so that will be fine.

Then on Thursday morning I finished packing any last minute stuff and I cleaned my apartment. Then Sister Lin and I headed to Taibei. It was a bumpy ride and the whole time I was just feeling super super sick and didn't want to leave. When we got to Taibei I met up with Sister Wang and Sister Chamberlain and we went back to Sister Chamberlain's area in Neihu (which is just outside of Taibei). When we got there we spent some time contacting people on the street hoping to share the gospel before dinner. Then we got a call saying we needed to get back to Taibei to pick up another missionary-- Sister Bang. We got her and then headed back to Neihu. We split up for the evening and Sister Bang and I went to a park to teach the gospel to anyone willing to listen. We ran into a couple. The man was from England and the woman from Taiwan. They weren't super interested but what I learned mostly is that I'm really bad at speaking about church in English. My Chinese is way better that my English. And my Chinese isn't even that good-- so mostly I'm bad at communicating with people. Anyway after we talked to them we ran into a man with his two dogs. We started talking to him and at first I felt like he was not interested at all. Then we started to talk to him about the Book of Mormon and he completely opened up about how he doesn't go to church because he knows that he smells like smoke and it's a bad habit and he wants to quit and change his life around. We talked to him about prayer and the power of the Book of Mormon and he started to cry. He asked us to give him the book and said he'd be willing to meet with missionaries and read the book. He also said a prayer with us and thanked God for allowing him to meet us and learn about these things. It was such an amazing experience and so crazy. I didn't expect to see any crazy things happen that day because I was in a temporary area with a temporary companion. It was cool though.

That night I slept on a couch. It was super uncomfortable and I hardly slept at all.

The next morning we headed to transfer meeting. It was great to see some missionaries there that I haven't seen in a while. Then we got started with Transfers. When they got to the part where they tell us who is in the Taoyuan Zone I was super nervous. I didn't want to leave that Zone (because it includes Bade and I'm obsessed with Bade). So the way they announce transfers is by putting up a power point with the pictures of the people who are not moving under the name of their area and then they announce who is moving in and their picture appears next to the picture of their new companion. Then they announced a new area opening for sisters in Nankan (which is still in Taoyuan-- practically neighbors with Bade)... and yep you guessed it! My picture showed up. I'm opening this area to sister missionary work-- just like I did with Bade. But its not just me by myself. I have my companion-- none other than the miracle worker herself-- Sister Bang. I guess the miracle we saw together the night before was just too great and so the Lord wanted to stick us together. I'm glad too. She's super super great. She's been on island for 4 months and her Chinese is already SUPER amazing. We'll have a great time together!

Here's the best part of the move-- I expected they would just give me keys and an address again and send me on my way. False-- they hadn't even secured the apartment yet. So once we got to our area we couldn't even move in until 2 hours later. It was great. We just went to the other sister's apartment (because we actually just split their area) and waited until we could get home. Then there were people working in our apartment all day so we didn't stick around. We just hit the streets and headed out to find our way around. Let me tell ya-- there are so many differences about here and Bade. We live on the 23rd floor in our apartment building. SO TALL!

There are so many cars here too. Everything is just big. And expensive looking. Our apartment has a super cute layout with a few minor setbacks at the beginning:

1. Our rusty old washing machine is in our bathroom because that's the only place that it can hook in-- and there may or may not be a cockroach family living under it... or rather dying under it because I killed them... obviously. That's disgusting.

2. We have no stove... or fridge... aka we need to eat out--- which is tough because let's be honest-- I have NO money left.

3. There is a layer of dust and germs on EVERYTHING. But my companion and I have started deep cleaning so it's not too bad.

4. We have no pillows-- it is SUPER hard to sleep without a pillow.

I'm not doing this place justice. It definitely needs some fixing up. We're gonna do that today. AND THEN IT WILL BE BEAUTIFUL.

Oh and we have no desks (or space for them when we get them)... so we studied on our beds the first day... and on our couch the next. We do have couches. Such a blessing. They are salmon orange and faded teal green-- aka probably the biggest fashion statement of the year. AND I FEEL LIKE I WALKED INTO THE 70s. ITS PERFECT.

Those are all minor details though. The toughest thing is not having my bike yet. We've been walking everywhere. I'M NOT EVEN KIDDING PEOPLE WHO ARE IN DRIVING AND WALKING MISSIONS WHO HAVE TO WALK AND BE ON THEIR FEET ALL THE TIME ARE SO XINKU (they don't have a word for that in english-- but basically their life is really hard). I am so glad I am in a biking mission. Walking everywhere is TOUGH on the body. Not even kidding-- I'll need a hip replacement before I turn 30... which is only in 8 years. Eww.

Oh you can tell our stake that Elder Seneca got moved here to Nankan also. Same district. Same area. Cool, huh?

Okay I probably sound like I'm complaining about everything-- honestly I love how pitiful things are for us right now. It's super fun and reminds me of how blessed I am. Really God is good and He has blessed me abundantly. This area is great and I will love it just like I loved Bade. We've already seen a lot of miracles and met a lot of really cool people. Lastly-- since we just took over part of an area that had sisters we started teaching the two investigators that they already had out here. So we still have lots to do. We will spend a lot of time outside contacting on the streets though-- so now we just need to find a way to do that.

Anyway. The church is true and I'm super happy here. I'll probably be here for about 3 months and then move for my last 3 months. I hope to open another area (Longtan) in my last three months on my mission. We'll see though. I'll start praying for it now.

MORAL OF THE STORY: I LOVE YOU ALL AND I AM SO HAPPY TO BE A MISSIONARY. My companion is also super great. I miss people in Bade- but I'm in the same stake so I'll see them again. The church is true. God loves me. And He loves you. And I know he loves everyone.

I know that Heavenly Father is involved in this work. He has allowed me to feel how much he loves everyone that I've taught the gospel too. It's interesting to feel how much God loves people. Once you feel that-- you love them more. I know that this life is tough for people sometimes. Life is not fair and it's not always that simple-- but if we live by the standards that God has laid out for us-- we will be ultimately happy.

Guess what? I'm moving!

Guess what-- big news. I'M MOVING! That's so crazy. On Saturday my companion and I were heading home and when we got to the elevator I looked at her and said "You're getting fat-- I think you're gonna have a baby soon!" (aka: she'll train). She screamed and probably punched me. Then we got to our apartment and the assistants called her and told her she's training! SO HILARIOUS! And thus-- I'm moving. I'll miss this place. I've learned so much in Bade about life and myself and the atonement. It'll be hard to leave. Something that hit me the other day is that when I leave an area and the people here I actually have no idea when I'll be able to see them again. It breaks my heart. Bade will always feel like a second home to me. And the things I've learned her have been imprinted on my heart.

Anyway. I LOVE YOU ALL!!!! And I love Bade. Last night I dreamt completely in Chinese. It was the craziest thing because it was a post-mission dream.. in America.. but it was all in Chinese. I have a feeling that going home and speaking English all the time will surprise me a little.

Honestly I can't remember anything that happened this week.

We helped this old lady that we teach clean her house this week... or at least start. It's so cluttered. Then after she sang us a song. I'll try to send the video if it's not too big.

Sorry this email is so short. I honestly have a blank mind right now. We've just been working hard and talking to everyone. I've been doing better at talking at stoplights. It's cool. And Sister Lin told me that every time I start talking to one person at a light-- everyone else looks over and listens because they're so surprised that I'm speaking Chinese. Lol. My chinese actually isn't very good. I'm just white so people stare.

Sister L. and I have still been successful at our goal not to eat at the same place twice. It's been a delicious goal. Also we ran everyday this morning (except saturday because our alarm didn't go off... shame). But it's been good. And now I'm not such a fat lard square anymore. I just hope that my next companion will motivate me to not be a fatty too. Also-- I think I want to continue not repeating places to eat. It makes things much more interesting for sure.

That's really all my news recently.

Oh I do have a new favorite scripture. 1 Nephi 6:4-6. I love this because it clearly outlines the purpose of the Book of Mormon. People ask us all the time what is the purpose of all of this.. well here it is.

I promise I'll actively look for things to share with you about next week. There is good news-- one of my investigators who has met with missionaries forever (she's 12 and her family is all less active) is having her baptismal interview on Friday. SO GREAT (: 

Okay that's all. I'm moving in just four days. SO CRAZY. 

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

You'll never believe it. Two days ago it SNOWED! It's a miracle. And everyone was like what is this stuff falling from the sky. And I was like SNOW OBVIOUSLY! And then everyone was happy and we all sang Christmas songs!! IT WAS A MIRACLE!

(: (: (:

Okay so I lied. But I did have a dream that it snowed and it was beautiful. My companion has never seen snow before and I think that's crazy talk! Also it's not really Christmas time or even time to start singing Christmas songs all day, but I've started early. NO ONE UNDERSTANDS ME! Moral of the story is that Christmas is coming and the goose is getting fat! But we don't eat geese here... so this will be an interesting holiday season. I hope that I stay in Bade next transfer with my sweet little Taiwanese companion. I want to teach her about Christmas. It would be so happy. I don't know how likely it is that I'll stay here though. I've been here three transfers. I was in Xin Zhuang for four transfers and I only have four left on my mission so who knows where I'll end up for Christmas. BUT I do look forward to calling you all (*Editors note: when she says you all, she means me!) . It will be a wonderful time for sure.

I bought my first Christmas decorations last week. A little snowman thing. I think I might give it away though in the process of teaching people out here how to do Christmas. And our ward Choir has started practicing Christmas songs. I sing with them because they need someone who can sing the alto part. And because I like Christmas.

Also-- it's so crazy to me that I've been on my mission for a year now. I still feel like a baby and like I have no idea what I'm doing. And although I speak Chinese-- which is wicked cool-- I still make mistakes. For example. I was telling an investigator about a prayer rock. She said she wasn't sure how she would remember to pray. So I mentioned that you just need to put a big rock on your pillow so that when you lay down to bed you feel it and remember that you need to pray. She looked really disturbed. That's when I realized that I didn't say put a big ROCK on your pillow... I said put a big TONGUE on your pillow. That's disgusting.

Speaking of disgusting things-- large intestines. Yes. I ate large intestines. Let's just say I've eaten better things-- but at the same time I've eaten worse. I prefer large intestines over pigs feet. I had three pieces before giving the rest to my companion.

Let's just say that fear is not a factor for me.

I ate something else interesting the other day. Eel. Actually it was really good. It just tastes like really good fish.

So yes-- the eating adventures have continued.

We have this investigator. Z. Mama. She's super old. She has a lot of rules about church. She always corrects us if we cross our legs. She says its rude. Then we had a 12 year old investigator with her cousin sitting in front of us and they started talking then suddenly I see z. mama reach up with her cane and tap them on the shoulder and tell them to be quiet. So hilarious.

Also-- there is a crazy fad here that my companion and I think is SUPER KUAZHANG. Everyone is obsessed with this big yellow rubber duck. I can't even explain it. He's everywhere. And people LOVE IT. I'm not doing this madness justice. Its crazy.

This past week we had interviews with president. It was good. Also my companion reminded me that its my second to last interview with him before my exit interview. Time is flying by. It's crazy.

While we were there Sister Day gave us a new rule. When it gets dark outside we have to where these hideous reflective vests. It's the pits. Really so crazy. The nice thing is that safety is really important to Taiwanese people-- so no one judges. It's been just two days so far. So I'm definitely not used to it. Eek!

Anyway. That's all for now.

I just want to dance. And play in the snow. But for now missionary work is good too.

I love you all. The church is true. The work is true. And really-- when we live by the principles of the gospel we will be free. 

It's like a kite. The string at the end of the kite holds the kite down. One might look at that and think-- the string is a restriction. But if you look at it differently you see that without the string-- the kite spends it's whole life on the ground. What do you prefer? To fly free or to spend your life on the ground or in the pits. Everyone who decides not to keep the commandments that God has given us will sooner or later end up on the ground and in the pits never to come out again unless they are willing to repent and obey. Why would anyone not want to obey?

Enough said. We obey because we want to be free.

hopefully...less words, more pictures

Gewei dixiong jiemei dajia zao annnnnnn! wo chaoji ai nimen. wasei xie pinyin zhende hen nan. wo xianzai pingchang dou xie zhongwen zi. haiyou nimen yiding kan bu dong wo xiede. zaogao. youkeneng Dave hui kandedong zhege. wo bu xiaode. danshi wo ai nimen!!! wo hui xie yingwen...haobuhao? ps. Dave xie xie yizhi zhaogu wode jiating. zhende hen ai ni! erqie wo hen kaixin women mingnian keyi yiqi shuo zhongwen. tai bang le! 

I have no idea if Dave will understand that because their are no tones.. It's simple though so he probably will get it.

There isn't a whole lot to say (except that I want to dance the rest of my life) since this week was short. I'll give you a few highlights.

Yesterday in the last hour of church right before we finished up the fire alarm went off. SO HILARIOUS! Everyone just sat around for a second. And I thought oh this is funny no ones moving.. I believe it was because of shock. Then we just hear some screaming coming from primary and see children running frantically looking for mom. It was a very loud fire alarm. And so random.. well we got downstairs.. Turns out it wasn't a drill. Lol. An electrical wire got too hot and burned up... Small fire and no damage done. Just a good story. (:

This past Wednesday we got to go to the temple.. which I guess I already told you about. But after the temple we went shopping. I love shopping here. Everything is so hip. And so cheap! And I've been wearing the same clothes for a year starting tomorrow. Eeek! Well I guess not really because I've been buying new clothes and wearing other people's... I know for sure though that at the end of my mission I'll definitely go on a major shopping spree and bring home all new clothes because heaven knows I don't want to revamp my wardrobe in America where everything is expensive.

Next last Wednesday evening was my first children's english class. It went really well. JJ (my recent convert) helped me co-teach which was good. It was still a little rusty but now that I've taught one I think I'll know how to teach others. I love teaching! And I love dancing. I should just teach dancing...

Then the next day we went back up to Taibei for temple tours. Our first tour was to three people from France... so it was in English.. and my companion doesn't speak English.. So it was rusty. We didn't have really any preparation for people from France. I just kept thinking of all my friends and family who served missions in France and I thought--- I'm glad I'm in Taiwan.

Then on Friday we went on exchanges. So I spent the evening and Saturday with Sister Ashcraft from Brigham city... it was so weird to speak English... I didn't realize that I've been speaking Chinese all day everyday for three weeks. Weird.

Then on Saturday evening we had a lesson with Sister Lin's cousin that we met. He is desperately in need of the gospel so it was really cool to teach him about the Plan of Salvation. He was so excited to take a Book of Mormon and said he's gonna try praying a lot. I know it'll help bring him a lot of comfort. We're meeting with him again on Friday.

Little brothers-- do your homework. work hard. You'll appreciate your hard work later in life.. And Garrett-- get your eagle scout.. why? because driving is wicked fun and I just wish I could drive my car again... riding a bike everywhere is much slower than driving!

I apologize for grammatical errors

I'll do my best to type in good American english but honestly my english is going downhill. It's pitiful. You see my sweet companion and I have spoken little to no English in let's see---- 3 weeks. Yep so sometimes I'll be praying in English and I can only think in Chinese so it just switches over to English. So moral of the story. I can't speak my mother language... (: (: It's a beautiful gift that God has given to me.

So tonight I'm super super super super (x1023980592835) nervous because we starting a kids English class besides the beginning, intermediate, and advanced class that we have. And I'm the teacher. The curriculum is whatever comes to my head. And the age group well I won't know that until they show up tonight so it'll be hard to plan for the class because I don't know what games and things to use. So scary. So hopefully tonight will go well. And after tonight next week will definitely go better. I'll learn a lot and hopefully all the things I learned at BYU will kick in again. Eeek.

Also remember that creepy old man from Xin Zhuang who loves me? Well I got 3 more letters from him this week. Moral of the story? I'm emailing president to see if someone can stop it because it's ridiculous and so creepy.

This past week we've been looking at our ward member list and going to people's houses and hoping that they are home so we can find out who the less active members are (which unfortunately is most of our ward). We've actually found some really cool people that way and some people that we think can make it back to church. My companion found a really good scripture about less actives too. 2 Nephi 29:32. I know that is true. God's hand of mercy is always extended to those who have wandered and He will welcome them home with a warm embrace. 

This past week we also had a specialized training that was wicked fun. We had to take the train to Xinzhu to get there and had to leave super early in the morning. But it was so worth it. We learned a lot about finding new investigators. And I learned something that I need to be better at. I need to be more bold. It's a new attribute I'm praying for. I need to not be afraid to talk to anyone and everyone about the gospel. Sometimes it's hard to be bold. It's hard to talk to strangers or even your friends about the gospel. But you just have to do it. Why? Because the Lord is hastening his work. He needs us to open up and share. Why? Because there is no other way to gain exaltation and eternal life than through the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. Why? Because in order to receive the ordinances that are necessary for exaltation in and out of the temple we must have priesthood authority. So it's time to get out there and be bold in proclaiming this message of great joy. I love Mosiah 3:4-5 (which by the way Mosiah 3 is my favorite chapter in the whole Book of Mormon). After the angel declares to Benjamin the tidings of great news, he tells him to tell other people that they too may be filled with great joy. You don't have an angel to come tell you the gospel-- but whoever taught you the gospel (mother, father, teachers, friends, missionaries) is your angel. Good enough for me. Then your call is the same. Go and share it with others that they  too may be filled with joy.

This past Sunday, President Day and his wife came to our ward. So great. Thank heavens we have a translator for the church in our ward so I didn't have to translate Sister Day's talk... but I did have to translate all of relief society into English for her. That was a very interesting thing to do. Also-- it's a skill that I don't have yet and I hope to refine. 

My companion and I often find ourselves biking about 30 minutes to Yingge (just another city that is in our area). There is no one around while we bike there so I always take that time to pray. I think I mentioned this last week. This week when I prayed my way to Yingge, I learned something new. We often tell people that the gospel helps bad people become good and good people become better. It's true. So I decided to look back at the last 2.5 years of my life and see if I've changed at all. Well it's inevitable. I have changed. I've come to the conclusion that I'm not the same person I was two years ago. And I'm definitely not the same person I was in high school. I wasn't a bad person, but I wasn't who I am now. It's been cool to look and the areas where the Lord has helped me grow and become better. I feel truly blessed to have Him in my life. I feel like I have become much more patient and charitable and I hope to continue to grow in these areas. I hope that I can develop all my Christlike attributes. Moral of the story is that it's true-- People can change. And with God's help we change for the better.

Okay on to my area:: I love BaDe and I love my companion. Enough said. Our investigators are doing well and my companion and I are working hard. This transfer is going by so quickly. I hope to stay in BaDe with Sister Lin next transfer too. We'll see I guess.

Oh please note-- I have mentioned that dogs and missionaries don't go well together. Well two days ago I told my companion that I'm officially not afraid of dogs anymore. If you ignore them, then they ignore you. No big deal. Yay! And then yesterday we were biking to an investigators home and out of no where this dog pops out in front of me and starts chasing me... except I was heading toward him with no way to turn so I had to pass him before I could get away.. .but he was charging. So scary. He came super close and I was getting to a dead end (and you can imagine the end of my life too). But I said a super quick prayer that he would stop. And then suddenly he just stopped and turned around and went to lay on his porch. It was the craziest thing. Moral of the story-- God answers all prayers no matter how dumb we think they are. Double moral-- when a dog chases you, the best thing to do to help yourself calm down after is to eat a sweet sweet circle (donut). Done.

Since this past Monday we didn't have P-day we headed down to visit HM-- an investigator that we found in the middle of nowhere. On our way back we knocked on a Less actives door. They weren't home. We sat down for a minute on her porch to drink some water. And a man pulled up and asked if I was from Germany. False. But he was interested in English class. Before he left he gave me and my companion some bananas that he had just bought. And they were delicious!

Also did I mention that my companion haven't eaten at the same place twice our whole time together? Whoever said there wasn't any good food in Bade was wrong. You just have to be willing to try new things.

Last two things. Yesterday we got lost and while we were lost a boy came up to my companion. He called her name. As it turns out-- it's her cousins kid. We ended up talking to her cousin and his son for a minute. Her cousins wife died just a few months ago. When he realized we were missionaries he asked us-- "where did my wife go? She's buddhist and I don't know where she ended up." We briefly answered and then asked if we could find a time to have a meal with them. It's a super special experience to be with Sister Lin while she has the chance to tell her family member that he'll see his wife again. I know the church is true and I know that he really will see his wife again.

Also-- I studied 2 Nephi 31:20 for about 20 minutes the other day. I can't possibly explain what I got out of it, but I want to share it with you so I'll send you a picture of my notes next week.

Well that's all this week. I love you all.

TOO PITIFUL!

I just have to tell you all how much I love my companion. She is super super awesome. Such a great missionary. And her chinese is wicked fluent. Go figure. She teaches me taiwanese here and there, but I always forget it. And I teach her some English. This week she asked how to say "tai kelian" in English. I said "too pitiful." Then she repeated. "too peeteeful." So funny. Then maybe an hour later I went to the bathroom and called out to her that there was no toilet paper. She just laughed and called back "tooooo peeeetteeeeeful!" I just about died. Now we say it all the time and whenever someone says it in chinese we just look at each other and laugh. We have a lot of good times and just hilarious things to laugh about. So we're having a great time. I love being with a native companion and I feel like my language is enough that we can develop the same kind of relationship that I do with my other companions. It's cool. And we work hard.

Just remembered: if you write me letters make sure to write my first name because another sister anderson just moved in town (:

This week has been full of miracles. One of them was crazy. We got in touch with a referral just the beginning of the week and she gave us her address to go meet at her house on Thursday evening at 7:30. On Wednesday we called to confirm the appointment, but she didn't answer.  We decided we'd go anyway and hope that she's home. We started biking there and first had to bike down the crazy steep crazy long switchback hill. Then we biked straight on this road for probably five minutes until we found the lane that she lives on. We turned on the lane and realized we had to bike down another super long hill (words don't do this trip justice). Getting to her house was MEGA fast. Because of gravity. It was wicked long/steep/windy and we were just thinking-- okay she better be home. And if she's not then we'll need to find a miracle down here because this hill is ridiculous. We finally got to the bottom of the mountain and found her address. We asked a lady on the street if a L.X.J. lives at number 20. She just laughed and said "no I live there and I have for years and years." Then she talked to us for a minute and told us she is Christian before heading out to take her trash out. We called  LXJ and she didn't answer. So weird. We know we didn't get the address wrong though because HNN (the lady who lives there) told us that they get this woman's mail. So weird. Anyway we decided to say a prayer then find someone to teach. Just a few minutes later HNN came back. We asked if we could sit and talk to her for a minute. (: We ended up having a lesson with her and talking to her about the Book of Mormon which she's excited to read. She seems pretty interested and said we can come back this week. Then she told us that her granddaughter is really interested in church things. Then she went to the phone and called her granddaughter so that Sister Lin could talk to her. We met with the granddaughter last night and she also became a new investigator. Cool! It made going back up the hill not nearly as bad.

I can't explain all the miracles this week. Mostly just small things like being able to get in touch with people that we haven't been able too. Like A. She has a baptismal date but we haven't been able to get in touch with her. Then the other day we were heading to visit an investigator. There are two ways to get to the investigator's house. The long way and the short way. When we got to the intersection to the long way I said a little prayer to know which way we should take (I'm not even sure why I did that because obviously I should take the short way!), but then I had a feeling to take the long way. So we did. About halfway to the investigators house I saw A walking down the street. What?! Miracle. We were able to get back in touch with her and set up a time to meet. She's getting baptized on Shandi's birthday. (:

Something super cool about having a native companion is that she knows which signs on the street mean food and which are just normal businesses. Our whole week and a half together we haven't eaten at the same place twice. We decided that we're gonna do that forever. Our whole time together we won't repeat a restaurant. It's super fun and puts us in a lot of different places to talk to people.

The other day I was biking home and I looked down at this boys foot. It looked rather wide to me and I did a double take. Then I counted. He had six toes! Interesting.

This past weekend we had stake conference. It was cool. We had to go to the Saturday evening session at the stake center which is an hour away and since we wouldn't be back to our apartment on time we got permission to sleep over at another sister's apartment. It was fun (:

Anyway that's about it for this week. Except that next week I'll email you all on Wednesday because I get to go to the temple! (: (: (: I'm very excited. It's been far too long since I've been to the temple. I'm happy though. I hope you all know how happy I am. I was saying a gratitude prayer on my bike yesterday and I was just thanking Heavenly Father for calling me on a mission. I look back at my time so far and first of all it's gone by wicked fast, but second, despite the fact that I remember the hard times and remember how tough things have been sometimes I look back and can only think of the happy things... like the fact that my testimony has grown a ton and that I have come closer to Christ and that I have seen people change their lives. Taiwan is part of me. This place will always have a special place in my heart and I will always think of it as a second home I think.

Lastly I want to share a little about Obedience. I've been reading in the Old testament in Deuteronomy. There is a lot about obedience because at this point the people have a lot of very strict rules and laws because of their wickedness. There is a scripture that says something along the lines of: when your children ask why you are obedient to all of these laws you say because we are obedient to God because he saved us from the Egyptians. That's it. We are obedient because God and Jesus Christ have saved us. We are obedient because we love them. And we love them because they first loved us. Also while I was saying my gratitude prayer on my bike last night I got to thinking just about how blessed I am. I'm not anything special. I haven't done anything to deserve all the blessings and love God gives me (and Heaven knows the blessings have been abundant). So I was wondering, why does God bless me with so much when I didn't do anything. Then I remembered-- because I am His daughter. He loves me. Regardless of our talents and background, God loves us with an infinite, ever increasing love. And that's why I'm on a mission-- because I want other normal people to know that they don't need to do anything special to be special to God. They are important to Him. I am important to Him. I know that my life has purpose and that the blessings I receive are from my loving Heavenly Father-- and thus I will obey.

Anyway-- I know this is true. And I'm so grateful for the changes and growth I've experienced on my mission. The Lord really has opened up the windows of Heaven and poured out a blessing upon me. I love you all. Stay safe.

My hands are covered in black...

I just got a new companion! Her bike hasn't gotten here yet so to ride to the internet cafe today I had to use one of the elders old bikes. The chain conveniently fell off halfway here so I had to put it back one. Now I have dirty dirty hands. It's a beautiful sight.

Okay so new companion! GUESS WHAT! I'm not training again. That's cool because I was really tired. I've aged probably fifty years...ba. It's bad. But now that I have short hair I look young again. And apparently I've lost weight. All the people in our ward keep asking if I'm on a diet or if I'm okay because they say I've become really really thin in my face and the rest of me. It's weird. I don't feel any different. But I have been exercising better. Maybe that's it. 

Anyway my new companion! She's from Taiwan and was baptized 7 years ago. Her parents aren't members but all of her sisters are. She's super cool and I like her a lot. (Sister Lin). Also she doesn't speak any English so I get to speak Chinese all the time. I'm learning a lot. I learned how to say dustpan! So great! My Chinese will become really good with her I think. Also she's gonna learn English because we have two only English speaking investigators. Holla!

I miss Sister Hammer, but she's gonna keep doing miracles in other places. Also Sister Boyer is training someone this transfer which is super cool. She's awesome. I love all my companions.

Also since I have native I'll get to try more foods! So let the eating festival begin. I had about 5 chicken hearts the other day. They're actually not too bad. I LOVE TO EAT AND I'M SO EXCITED TO TRY EVERYTHING!

I have a goal for our area though. I don't know how long I'll be here, but that doesn't matter. I hope that next transfer (so six weeks from now), we've worked hard enough that the ward can have a baptism every week. I know we can do it. Bade is the land of miracles and ready to be up and running. It's a good time to be doing missionary work! 

General conference was good. I watched all of it, but the Sunday afternoon session I had to watch in Chinese. I pretty much understood the gist of it. It was good. I liked a lot of the talks. I felt like this conference was a lot of cracking down on moral standards and pushing forward missionary work.. but maybe that's because I'm a missionary and I watch it from a missionary perspective.

I really liked Elder Ballard's talk. Something I struggle with on my mission is fear to speak to people. Typical. It is actually a huge stumbling block that I can't afford to have. I really liked though that Elder Ballard promised that as we kneel down and pray in faith and ask for opportunities to share the gospel, fear will go away. That's true. It was good to hear that and remind myself that I can do it. Sister Lin and I will talk to everyone this transfer. I can learn a lot from her.

I also started thinking. Someone had talked about how faith precedes the miracle. I'd like to add to that. "Faith precedes the miracle. And gratitude must follow it." We need to express our thanks for everything. I've started saying gratitude prayers while we bike long distances. It has been a big boost. I have so much to be grateful for. I'm really grateful for all of you and the support you give to me and the prayers you send my way. I'm a very lucky daughter and sister.

I love you all. I know this is true and I know that we have a living prophet. I know that Jesus Christ is the leader of our church.

Happy 11 month anniversary!

I've been on a mission for 11 months today. That is maybe the craziest thing. This goes so dang fast! But it's mega fun and I learn a lot and grow a lot and I've changed a lot. For the better. I'm still crazy though. Don't worry. (: (: (: (:

I need to tell you all about Bruce. There is a stray dog that lives in our neighborhood. He's always laying all over the place. He has a broken tail but he's such a stud. We named him Bruce and everytime we see him we just yell in really deep voices "BRUCE!" He doesn't understand English though so there's a little bit of a communication barrier. Anyway last week we saw him limping around with a broken foot and starting to get angry and growl at people when previously he used to just ignore everyone. And now he is gone. We miss him.

We did this exercise this past week called penguins. Apparently it gets rid of your love handles... It was really fun. Then the next day rolled around... I believe that it will get rid of love handles because it hurt like the pits. It's good. And our investigator... I mean recent convert now who is a total exercise/health nut was talking to us about what she does to tone her abs. She's super hard core. And I'm not. I'm just a fat lard with really really really strong legs from biking everywhere.

I was really impressed with my ward this week at how good they did at fellowshipping our most recent baptism (last saturday). I hope that our ward in Virginia is like that. It's good to know that I can trust these people that I teach and love so much with the members.

Transfers are coming this next week. I'm not training again so for the first time in my mission I'll be in a normal companionship. We have no idea what to expect. We have a feeling that I'll move out of Bade. Who knows?

Also it's been cold recently. And I'm freezing right now. And I wore sweater yesterday. Cold rain is a very sad thing.

Oh we discovered this week that when old people have trouble with their hands and feet, the doctors out here just cut off their digits. We've met quite a few people that only have like 3 fingers on both hands. It's creepy.

We had a lesson with LM this week. She's so great and still wants to get baptized. We asked her if the whole baptism by immersion thing scared her. She just looked at us and laughed and said "heyyyy I KNOW HOW TO SWIM!" It was hilarious. She's getting baptized!

I love her so much.

Anyway this week has been good. I've been working on having more faith. It's been rewarding. I still need to improve so much because I'm not that great of a missionary... But I know that God loves me.

I can't type anymore because I'm so cold and my hands feel like they are freezing off. But I want everyone to know that I know this is true. The church is true. I've seen the gospel of Jesus Christ work in people's lives to take them from where they are and bring them up to what they are expected to be and I really really know that it's because this is a true thing. This is real life. I know that Christ is my savior and because of him we can learn to forgive people who have wronged us. I know that he's been where we are and he will guide our lives if we will let him. Read the Book of Mormon. It's a true book. I know that Thomas S. Monson is a living day prophet. We must heed his words and do what he says if we want to have hope for the future. I know that when things are unclear or uncertain we can search the abundance of words that God has given us. Words of the prophets modern and ancient. We will be guided. God loves us. He loves me and he loves you. I love you too.

My hymnbook smells like binlang

Yes. My hymnbook smells like binlang. It's a nasty drug and a nasty smell. And it's my english hymnbook so I don't know why it smells that way. It's very weird. But I was singing last night and then I smelt it and thought... oh that's weird. Anyway. Fun fact.

This week has been SUPER fast. And now I'm coming up on my 7th transfer soon. So fast!!! It's crazy how time flies.

I'll tell you about what doesn't go by quickly though-- that would be reading Isaiah in Chinese. Yes I've made it to the Isaiah chapters in the Book of Mormon in Chinese... And it's super super hard and I mostly don't understand anything that's going on. It's tough to get through but I'm gonna make it. The rest of the Book of Mormon is actually not too hard in Chinese. It's cool reading in Chinese. I learn a lot of things that I just don't get in English. It's mega fun (:

Also my companion and I discovered the most dangerous thing on the road this week. That would be old people. They like to ride bikes really slowly in front of us. And they are SUPER unpredictable. They will turn suddenly with out warning pushing you into traffic. It's not a happy combination. And I probably say more prayers on the road about all the old people that we have to bike by than anything else... slight exaggeration. But it's seriously hilarious.. .and concerning.

Also this past week I got the BEST news. TWO OF MY INVESTIGATORS GOT BAPTIZED ON SATURDAY!! They were from my last area in Xin Zhuang. I cried when I found out because I was so thrilled. I love those two ladies. So so so so much (:

Also we're having an english class party next week... HALLOWEEN PARTY!! WOOT WOOT!

This week I had a thought though. All of my friends from high school probably just graduated from college. Right? Weird. I still have a super long time left. But I'm on a mission and I speak Chinese. So that's cool (:

We taught an 88 year old woman twice this week. She did tell us we need to not cross our legs when we pray because it's rude. And she has no front teeth and she's christian. And I don't understand a word she says because it's mostly in Taiwanese. Okay false-- I understand about 80% of what she says. It's an interesting thing to teach her. Also-- she doesn't understand us. So we need a member to go with us.

Okay this week was super cool and involved probably the most memorable birthday of my life. (Don't get me wrong I love being with ya'll on my birthday but this was seriously a crazy crazy awesome birthday.)

We had an outdoor zone conference so our zone and the Xinzhu zones all got together and took busses to miaoli. We went to Lion's head mountain and hiked up it. NOT EVEN KIDDING NATURE IS SO DARN COOL. Along the trail we had different bits of training, we took pictures, ate lunch, talked and got to know other missionaries and had time to be still and ponder. It really put everything back into perspective for me-- which is something I really needed recently. I know that God created this beautiful world for us. And I know that we are His most prized creations. I feel so small-- yet so important. I know that my life has worth and I know that God has been watching out for me. At the top of the mountain we had a training by President Day. Seriously-- that man is inspired of God. He is a good man and I'm so glad he is my leader. He made an announcement that they are opening up a new zone in our mission and that people are gonna have to step up to leadership positions early in their missions than they expect. I have no idea what that means for me. I still feel like a young missionary... but apparently I'm not considered new anymore. Maybe I'll train my whole mission. Who knows. I want a native companion though because I want to speak Chinese all the time. Then I can improve a lot. After the super steep/long hike we were heading home on the bus. There was a baptism in Longtan at 7:00 that we really wanted to take our investigator to. We needed to catch the bus from our church no later than 6:00 to get there on time. I can't explain this miracle. At 5:30 the bus was driving through Longtan. We still had about 40 minutes until we would be at the place they would let us off. Then another 30 to our apartment where we could change our clothes and then another 40 minutes to Longtan. Eek. We decided to get off the bus at Longtan with the other Elders in our area. Our investigator was to meet us at the church at 5:45. We knew that this way would be shorter-- but we'd still probably be too late for the baptism. THEN a recent convert happened to drive by and arrange for us to get a ride back to our area and drive us and our investigator to the baptism. We showed up at 6:59. Wow! The Lord obviously wanted this to happen. The baptism was great and the spirit was very strong. Then in the evening when we got home, I ate cake with my companion (:

IT WAS SUCH A GOOD BIRTHDAY! And now I'm 22!! 

Then on Saturday we had temple tours all day. There was a wedding reception going on so there were a lot of nonmembers waiting for the wedding party to get out of the temple. We were able to give a tour to these two girls who were waiting. It was a really cool tour. But probably one of the coolest parts was this girl who was outside taking pictures of the temple. She lives in our zone. She and her boyfriend are Christians. She was really excited to have a temple tour and said she's interested to learn more and that her boyfriend will be too. It was super super cool. I called the sisters who will teach her and let them know all about this little miracle investigator that the Lord provided us with. Cool cool cool.

Oh and I did it. I cut my hair.  *picture to follow*

Oh and remember that creepy man from Xin Zhuang. Yes... I got three more letters from him this week. Gross. They are in Chinese though so I haven't gotten around to reading them yet. I'll get there maybe. Idk it creeps me out... maybe that's why I'm considering never getting married. SO SO SO SO CREEPY! 

Oh I never mentioned that last week we talked to a drunk man on his bike during the typhoon. He just talked and talked and talked about a whole lot of nothing. But he kept mentioning Christmas... So then when ever he would stop and scratch his head to think we'd say oh you mean Christmas?? Then he would point at us and say "YES YES THAT'S IT!! CHRISTMAS!" It was hilarious.  Please note we weren't making fun of him but he kept trying to run a red light so we kept him talking until it turned green... but then usually when it turned green he would just keep talking so we had to keep him talking through the next red light.. and the next one. etc. lol.

That's mostly it for this week. I'll try to send pictures if I have time later. (:

LOVE YOU ALL!

-Cae

I forgot to mention. We told LM about church. We told her to wear a skirt to church and asked if she has one. She said she has so many. So we invited her to wear one... then she just laughed and said "I can't wear a skirt... I have no butt!" We just laughed. Girlfriend is 75 years old and still thinking about these things. Lol. (: