8 weeks on island. HOLLA!

Several weeks ago, Micaela mentioned they put the carcass of the dead cockroach in their freezer, and I just got around to asking her about it.  This is her response:

Wow I just laughed so hard about your question about the cockroach. SO HILARIOUS! Maybe it was partially guilt for the slaughter of innocent lives mixed with trying to cover the tracts so that his family and friends wouldn't find out... who knows? 

Okay just kidding. Out here, to avoid getting bugs they put any trash that is wet food or that would attract attention in the freezer. So our freezer is actually full of old food. Then when you throw that stuff away, they have people who go through it and pull out all the food items in the trash. That food gets fed to pigs. It's not a good job to have, but I will admit this, the people here are solid at recycling.   

I love Xin Zhuang. It's seriously the best area. I hope to start and end my mission here. It's solid

Last week my companion and I went up to Dan Shui (Tam sui) for pday. It was so great. While there I:

1. Touched a live squid

2. Talked to an italian man

3. gave away a Book of Mormon

4. ran into Elder Monson and Elder Liu and their digeridoos

5. ate turkish ice cream

6. supported my companion as she shared the gospel to French people in French

7. ran into a man from Minnasota and his Taiwanese wife (shared the gospel with them)

It was a successful day!

The other day I also ran into a white man who lives here in Taiwan. He was in the air force too once. He was on aircraft maintenance. He said that navigators aren't too bad (:

I read Alma 27:17-19 in personal study the other day. I definitely got a solid laugh out of this. Imagine it. SO HILARIOUS RIGHT?!

I also read in Alma 28-29. I got a lot out of these chapters. Look at how the people react to hard times. They really are so humble and rely on the Lord a lot. It's great to see that. I hope I can be like them when things get tough. I also think it's interesting that God will grant us the desire of our hearts-- but he will do that according to the true desire of our hearts (which cannot be known until we have learned). For example. If someone desires to quit smoking-- God will help them, but they will have more desire to quit smoking after learning the Word of Wisdom-- and it will be easier at that point. Make sense?

I love the way they cook eggs out here. It's called Ludan. You should look it up and try it. They boil the egg then peal it. Then they boil it again in like meat broth with soy sauce and other seasonings. It's so good. Regular eggs will never compare. It's probably super easy so you could try it at home and then know what it's like to be in Taiwan! 

Okay update on a few miracles:

Last Tuesday we were supposed to have a lesson at 8:00pm with these two girls. We brought a recent convert  with us to peike. We figured if we got fang'd (stood up) then we could press on with her new member lessons. So we also decided to bring P. JM with us to pei our peike's ke (i don't know how to translate that). We arrived early with P. JM and decided to just contact in the area while we waited for L. JM. We ended up starting to talk to this girl.  L. JM came over shortly after. During our conversation we found out that she's a recent Christian and she really loves Jesus and wants to develop her relationship with him. She also has a lot of friends who are Christian and/or looking for a church. GOLD. Anyway she was really excited when we showed her the Book of Mormon. We asked if we could meet her right then. She said yes and left to go cancel her plans. She was back five minutes later so we sat down at KFC and taught her the first lesson. The spirit was so strong and the peike's were so suitable for her. We set a baptismal date. The reason she hasn't been baptized is because she worships her ancestors. After further discussion we found out that she doesn't worship them because she things they are Gods. She does it because she wants to remember them and be close to them. We briefly mentioned the temple and told her we'd talk more about it in our next lesson. She was really excited. We met again two days later for dinner with her and two friends (L. XJ and Q. XJ). Then we taught them the second lesson. It was so spiritual. We all cried together. We also laughed together. They had questions and so tithing and Word of Wisdom also came up. They commited to live the law of tithing after they are baptized (which they all have dates for) and they are going to start working on the Word of Wisdom. On Sunday Z. JM came to church (her friends are going to start coming too). She had a great experience. She told us she's started doing really well with the word of wisdom. Apparently all three of them went out to do karaoke and NONE of them drank. I am so so proud of them all! Last night we had a lesson with Q. JM. We taught her the first lesson. The spirit was strong again and she commited to pray about Joseph Smith. We asked J. again to do that, she said she would but added that she already knows that it's all true. I can't believe it! Actually I can! She is so amazing and so are her friends. They are all so solid and progressing and we just love them so much. Plus they all already have friends with members.

I've set a goal to read the Book of Mormon in characters during lessons. I have the Pinyin and natives right there with me if I need help, but so far there have only been a handful of characters that I haven't recognized. It's neat to read characters.

Next is P. JM. She is so great! I absolutely love her. She really has a lot of desire. Since she started living the word of wisdom her whole countenance changed. SO SO SO MUCH. She's a lot less tired and the just looks a lot more relaxed. She says she feels that way too. We recently taught her Sabbath Day. Once she realized coming to church was a commandment, she was really excited to come. She came yesterday and had a great experience. Sweet sweet girl.

We are so happy for S. JM. She's getting baptized next Saturday. She's great. We didn't do anything for her. She just showed up at church a few weeks ago. She was a former from Sister Taylor and Sister Kang. She's been reading and praying daily. She's in 3 Nephi! She was also so excited/nervous for the interview that she's been reviewing the pamphlets every day to prepare. We told her she didn't have anything to worry about and went over the questions with her, but she still wanted to study. Sweet sweet girl. She wants to get baptized so badly. AND SHE'S GONNA MAKE IT! I adore her.

Anyway family. That's all!

I love you all! 

Love

Cae

Have I ever mentioned how much I love missionary work?

*Editors note:  Micaela is asking for something in this letter.  For anyone who wants to send some thoughts to her can email them to me at Becky@GreatAmericanNetworks.us

Hello all of my lovelies! 

I only have a few minutes left to write so hopefully I can get it all in!

First of all SARAH CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR CALL! You will LOVE being a missionary! Eeek! (: (: (: (: (: (:

Also, happy birthday to Danielle Dixon (: 3.14

Last Monday we went to a pet store for pday. We saw some NASTY lookin fish and some of the cutest dogs in the world. They are TINY TINY TINY! And crazy. So I guess that doesn't seem too excited to you all, but its a big deal for us! Lol.

Speaking of dogs though. I came across Philippians 3:2. "Beware of dogs" HOW HILARIOUS IS THAT! It's so true though. Dogs do NOT like missionaries. I've been chased on my bike before and when ever we walk by one I always say a prayer. They are actually really scary out here. It's such a hoot. I love dogs though... just not all the stray ones that wander around.

I have a couple invitations for the family. I thought of this while I was studying last week. We have on a few occasions given out copies of the Book of Mormon to random people that we don't even talk to more than a few seconds. Moral of the story? Each Book of Mormon will get to someone who needs it and is ready for the gospel. Challenge? Get a copy. Pray about it. Give it to someone this week who is ready for it. (And if you actually have never read it before-- get a copy and keep it for yourself!). I know that all of you can do this. I want you all to try this. You will see miracles. And send me your experiences (:

Next. I realized that I really need to have a testimony of all the commandments and gospel principles in order to teach well. I do have a testimony and I do know it's all true, but it could always be better. So I want to draw from your experiences. Invitation? Pick a commandment or gospel topic, type up your testimony. Email it to my mom. I would love it if I could get hard copies of these things so that I can read them throughout the week. I know its a big invitation, but it would really help. I've only been in the world for 21 years so I know that I don't have as many experiences with blessings that come from living gospel precepts.

I want to share a quote from Robert D. Hales in his most recent conference address. "As we follow Him, He blesses us with gifts, talents, and strength to do His will, allowing us to go beyond our comfort zones and do things we've never before thought possible." I testify that this is true. I mean let's be real people. I'M SPEAKING CHINESE. Everyday missionaries all over the world push the limits of their comfort zones. It's not easy, but we have the name of Christ on our tag to bear us up. I know that this is true and that this work is the work of God. There is no force or power that can stop that. 

Also-- I learned in the Bible the other day that my life as a missionary is pretty good. Read Mark 6:8-9. WORST CALL PACKET EVER! I am very glad to be a missionary in the last days rather than other days when it was much harder.

The other day we were riding our bikes and we ran into a Buddhist parade. It was REALLY neat to see. Very loud with lots of fireworks and men playing music which they hadn't before hand coordinated. It's supposed to scare away ghosts. It was really really cool.

I want to share about daily life here. Some people wonder what missionaries do all day. Well here it is. We wake up every morning at 6:30am. Then we exercise for 30 minutes. We usually start getting ready around 7:10. At 8:00 we start studies. 1 hour of personal study. Then we have 2 hours of companionship study because I'm training. Then we have 1 hour of language study. At noon we finally can start our day. We eat lunch and go out proselyting. We take time during the day to call investigators, meet with people, and proselyte in different areas. Then by 9:00 we're back in our apartment to do planning for the next day. After planning we have some time to write in our journal and tidy up a bit before bed at 10:30. By then we are EXHAUSTED! It's great fun! The days fly by. The weeks fly by. And now I've made it through my first transfer. Usually they are 6 week cycles but this last transfer was 7 weeks. Everyday we go to the same place for breakfast. We are building a friendship with them. They are a couple that has only been married for 2 years. They are the sweetest and we adore them. They will members before you know it (: During the day we bike a ton! My area is huge. We spend a few hours each day on bikes. At every stop light we talk to people around us. Anytime we feel like we need to talk to someone we passed, we turn around. It's awesome!!! We see a lot of miracles and are definitely being protected. (:

Sister Daye told me that each transfer is like  10 years of life. I believe it. That makes me 10 years old now. That makes sense, I have a fairly decent grasp of how to communicate with people but I'm not quite ready to be separated from my trainer. I'm okay on exchanges (which is like baby sitting a sibling), but I could never be a mom. It's a pretty accurate comparision. It's definitely a roller coaster ride!

We've had some cool experiences recently. We ran into a girl from Louisiana. Moral of the story. Speaking English is hard. People say things like cool beans. If you talk to Americans like English is their second language, you will definitely get a weird reaction.

We also ran into a girl from America who lives in Taibei. Her uncle and dad were visiting her. Her dad looked really interested in the gospel and what we shared. We gave them some pass along cards that I happened to have in English.

I want to find a white girl out here who is ready for the gospel and teach her. That's what I'm praying for right now. It'd be interesting for sure.

Okay time for miracles (:

Last Saturday we went to Taibei to do temple tours... It was a miraculous day, but of course coming with miracles is also some funny stories. That morning I had been telling Sister Daye that I wanted something I could really laugh about to happen. The Lord answers prayers. This is an excerpt from Sister Daye's letter. She explains it best!

"During temple tours my companion and I had the privilege of hosting 2 runaways. Allow me to explain. We gave a tour to a man who is having a hard time quitting smoking and binlang. As we started to testify of the empowering part of the atonement he sat down and started to cry. Feeling the spirit still, we kept testifying until he stood up and bolted! Not quite sure what to do and not sure what we'd say if we caught up with him, we waited awkwardly in the hall. His elders eventually came back and explained his situation. How jolting. But wait there's more. Later that day, we gave a tour to the Zhongli sisters' investigator. Or more like we said hello. We asked what she felt about Christ. Her response was "nothing." We asked how she felt about her baptismal date and she looked me in the eyes and with anger in her voice yelled "BU YONG! (No use)" She also ran away and was chased by a very confused boyfriend. Very practiced now in the ancient art of being run away from my companion and I sat on the sofa and laughed. We decided from then on to wear more deodorant."

I STILL LAUGH ABOUT THIS BECAUSE IT WAS THE MOST SHOCKING THING EVER! No one will ever forget the Xin Zhuang sisters. We will scare away your investigators. Please don't be worried though. Both of those previous situations have been taken care of. (: They will probably both join the church in the near future.

MIRACLE TIME!

Yesterday when we were on the way to the Bishops house a man stopped us and said he wants us to teach him about our church. We set up a time to meet with him in a McD's where we're gonna introduce what's up and pass him onto the Elders.

Last Monday we were at the grocery store and we bumped into a girl who was so prepared for our message. We had a lesson right there in the store with her. She was so willing to pray. That evening we met with her again and we'll meet with her again tonight. That first lesson went really well. She is encountering a lot of trials right now-- a true sign that Satan knows how close she is to joining the fold. What she really needs is friends. Solid, supportive friends. Done. We know where to find them (: I can't imagine what would have happened if we thought-- "oh it's Monday, it's p-day so I don't need to keep my line in the water. I get to do my own thing." WE WOULD HAVE NEVER FOUND HER! This girl needs the gospel. Everyone needs the gospel... even on Mondays.

Last Tuesday as we went English boarding with some members we ran into these two super sweet girls. They were SO willing to talk with us and pray with us right there around a busy intersection where everyone could see. We are meeting with them again tomorrow. They are both 16.

Every Thursday we meet with H.  Before Guonian her desire wasn't completely there. After Guonian she's been really busy, but we finally got in contact with her again. Her desire and willingness to keep commitments has changed completely. It's amazing to see how one lesson reading the Book of Mormon with her and a peike can really change people. There is a reason they send us out here with the Book of Mormon. It is the KEY to missionary work. H. is really learning how to apply it to her life and has great questions about it. She is progressing slowly, but she is definitely progressing! (: I love her!

Recently we stopped and talked to a girl who was walking home. She's precious. She's 17. She's kind of hai hao (so so) about religion but she was really willing to hear what we had to say. When we asked if we could meet again she said yes and asked if she could bring a friends. OBVIOUSLY SHE CAN! We met with her and her friend... actually she brought two... yesterday. We had a great lesson. The spirit was really strong. These girls will really benefit from the gospel. They were all so willing to take a Book of Mormon and read and pray about it. We set up again. They are mega adorable!

Okay last two investigators to mention. THEY ARE SO STELLAR! 

Z.M.  She is getting baptized in two weeks. She was the investigator who had some serious WOW problems. Because of medical reasons she had to quit everything. She is definitely very sick, but she is also so happy and since quitting smoking and drinking she also is much more aware of the goings on around her. We finished up teaching commandments yesterday. Her son and the Relief society president (who is so good with her) helped us Peike. She is so hilarious and wants to keep the commandments so badly. When we talked about fasting she was SO EXCITED. The Relief Society president told her to ask her doctor if she could fast-- because of her health. She said she'd ask but she also said that she doesn't care what the doctor says she wants to fast and she's going to fast. (Of course if it's not healthy we'll make sure she's taken care of). She was so funny though and so excited to keep commandments. Everytime we mentioned a new one she just lit up and was asking us if she could obey. THIS IS HOW PEOPLE ARE SUPPOSED TO REACT TO COMMANDMENTS. This woman LOVES tithing. She LOVES fasting. She LOVE reading the scriptures. She is SOLID! After every lesson she tells us how much she loves us! So great!

PM. Girlfriend is on fire! She loves to read the Book of Mormon. She came to a temple tour on Saturday where we taught her the 3rd lesson. It's cool to see how much she is progressing. Her prayers have really changed a lot. She really believes that she is communicating with God. She knows this is true. It's amazing also to see her relationship with her sister (a recent convert) change and blossom. Before her sister joined the church they all used to fight a lot. Now these girls are best friends and they just laugh and laugh together. Yesterday she didn't make it to church because of a headache. We went to her house last night to visit. We went in and decided to read the Book of Mormon with her. We also warned her that as she gets closer to the gospel, Satan will try to make it hard on her. Then we started reading where she is in 2 Nephi 1. We didn't plan to do anything except read with her. The Lord had other plans. During the discussion of our reading we ended up teaching obedience, prayer, and daily scripture study. That all led into the Word of Wisdom. Unexpected! The Lord obviously knows what she needs now better than we do. She drinks coffee and tea but she is so willing to give them up. In her prayer she thanked Heavenly Father for the word of wisdom and told him she's willing to keep it. WHAT A GREAT GIRL! Everytime we get to see her I just am so happy! She is so so so fun to teach!

The cute little 16 year old girl who is waiting on her mom's permission is still waiting. Her baptism is next Saturday. We are praying like crazy that her mom will give her permission. We have tried everything. I still feel good about how things are going though. Fingers crossed.

Okay that's all for now.

It's been a crazy week. Busy. Awesome. Crazy. The church is true.

Love you!!!

-Cae

my miracles

This week was STELLAR FAB! Okay a few items of business before I get to the meat of this week. (:

Okay just one item. I found out just the other day that I can use a members home when I call you on Mother's day. And by call you I mean skype with you! I almost cried when I got that news. (: The white handbook suggests that our skype session only be for 40 minutes so it's not as much time as you probably would like, but it's precious nonetheless (:

Okay this week has been great. I haven't eaten anything to weird. Except for straight gluten. I don't know what that means. Eek. This week we had a lot of different things in our schedule. On Tuesday we had a Zone training meeting in TuCheng. It was great. After the meeting we went on exchanges. I brought Sister Wu back to Xin Zhuang with me. I was so scared. She's a native so I had a whole day where I was the senior companion in my area... with someone who doesn't speak English. It was a really hard day because I only kind of know my way around and I only pretend to speak Chinese. It turns out though that I can do hard things. I was amazed. We had a really good day and we had a lesson on the street with this sweet 16 year old girl. When Sister Daye and I went back to visit her we gave her a Book of Mormon. She was really excited. I called her the next day to see if she had read the introduction. She said yes and she really liked it. We're gonna visit her again soon and set up a time to meet with her. Precious girl!

On Wednesday we went to Taibei city to do temple tour training. It was a great/very spiritual training. I learned a lot about the importance of teaching the restoration always. That is our unique message. HELLO PEOPLE THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST AS IT WAS WHEN HE WAS ON THE EARTH HAS BEEN RESTORED IN IT'S FULL ORIGINAL FORM. That is the reason we are here and that is the reason I will stay here and that is the reason I will spend my entire life sharing the gospel with people. The church is so true. DOUBLE TRUE!

I also learned something from eating truffles this week. We have this bag of truffles. They are DELICIOUS! Except they are covered in the most bitter cocoa powder that makes me want to cry every time i taste it. But I keep eating more because once you get through the powder you discover the most beautiful delicious chocolate on the inside. It is literally one of my favorite things to eat. Lesson learned--opposition in all things. Maybe that chocolate isn't any better than other chocolate but because I have to go through a trial each time I eat one, the sweet that immediately follows makes me want to go back for more. Cool, huh? I'm sure you can apply that to your life somewhere. Mmm. Chocolate (:

I read a few more conference talks this week and I have an assignment for you. I know you are all really busy, but I think this talk would be worth reading together and having a quickie family home evening on. It's by Bishop Gary E. Stevenson "Be Valiant in Courage, Strength, and Activity." It's really a good read and gets you pumped to stand for truth and righteousness. Garrett and Braeden-- you two were saved to live in this time because the Lord knows your hearts and he knew that you could handle it. I know you can too. Both of you are getting to the stage in life when many young men fall away from the church because they get sucked into something that goes against their standards. Make the decision now to stand up for what you believe. It won't be easy all the time but I promise you that it will be worth it. Live worthily to go on missions. Speaking to you from the mission field-- this is the most satisfying thing I've ever done. If you work hard for your missions and on your missions, you two will be unstoppable forces for good on the Lord's side. ARE YOU UP TO THE CHALLENGE?! Your mission if you choose to accept is to not only be on the Lord's side, but to do it loud and proud in the Anderson fashion!

^^And this invitation isn't just to them-- it's to anyone. It's to everyone. (: Go and do!

Follow the example of the Savior in Mark 3:7. The pharasees go over to criticize and tempt him... And he just simply withdraws himself away. If you encounter temptation. Why stay? Just peace out and find something new to do. There is no reason to walk on the edge of the cliff when falling off means death and backing away means eternal happiness. Head towards the eternal happiness side (:

This week in my training we have been studying revelation through the Book of Mormon. I realized this. Everything I am doing now and everything I believe in comes down to whether the Book of Mormon is true or not. Put in the effort to find out for yourself. The Book of Mormon is our evidence that God and Jesus Christ indeed appear to Joseph Smith and that their church is restored. The evidence is tangeable. You can feel the book, read it, and apply it's principles to yourself in a way that will change your life. Put that to the test. Find out if it's true. I KNOW it is. I've read it. I've prayed about it. I've seen my life change because of it and I've seen other people's lives change because of it.

Also this week I saw dad's Mormon.org profile. I love it. The grammar isn't perfect, but it's real. I felt the spirit while I read it. Everyone should make these profiles. Share it with your friends. Let them see Mormon.org. It's really a neat website!

Something that is amazing is seeing people progress. We've had a few lessons this week where people's progression is obvious. You have no idea how neat it is to be part of that and see that change. The spirit is really strong during the moments of progression. What's also cool is seeing people's reactions to the Book of Mormon. A lot of people's eyes get wide. They are so excited to get this. They've never seen it before and when they hold it you can feel the spirit prompting them to read it. We've given out a few copies this week. Each time the people on the receiving end got wide eyed and thanked us profusely. It's awesome to hand out. And it's even more awesome to know that they will be blessed immensely for reading it! They have no idea. (:

This past Thursday was SOLID! During my personal study I read something from a conference talk and my patriarchal blessing that really gave me a kick in the pants. I wrote down in my study journal. "Today I'm going to see miracles. I don't know how or where, but the Lord does and I'm gonna work hard to make things happen!" Needless to say, that day was STELLAR! I don't know if it was that my commitment changed or if I just was looking at everything in a different light, but I had a GREAT DAY! Here are some of the great things that happened.

Before our weekly planning session we had a lesson with an investigator that we haven't seen in a while. We started to read the Book of Mormon with her. We really wanted her to figure out that this had meaning to her life. We we able to apply it to her and by the end she was REALLY excited. When she said the closing prayer she asked God to help her learn how to apply it more. Her desire got so strong in that lesson!

We we riding our bikes to a qingke (dinner at someone's home) and (as per the example set by the tucheng missionaries) I talked to someone at every stop light (that sure does make the 35 minutes bike ride to North Xin Zhuang go much faster). Every stop light was great. I assessed what people needed from me. Sometimes it was just to see that I had a nametag (with Christ's name on it) on and that I cared about their day, but regardless I did work at every light! I pulled up later to a lady with really cute red glasses (i'm a glasses person myself) so I told her that I liked them a lot. We talked for a minute about glasses and where we were both headed. Turns out she works right across from our qingke's apartment. When we got there she was working pretty hard so she couldn't really stop and talk to us, but sister Daye told her she liked her scarf. I gave her a family tract. We asked her what makes a successful family. She said if we're all alive then it is success. Interesting. I put our phone number on the tract and invited her to come to church. She said she'd probably come because she hopes to see us again. I didn't ask to schedule an appointment. I'm not sure why, but I didn't feel that it would be right. She seems like the type (after our conversation) that wants to/will act on her own. I feel confident we'll see her again.

After the qingke two AMAZING things happened! We saw this boy with green hair. He had just lit a cigarette. He was just sitting there just waiting for the Gospel! We started talking to him. As we talked he put the cigarette out. There was a light in his eyes that belongs to the people who are prepared. He happily had a lesson with us on the street and was really willing to meet with the elders. After he prayed, when he opened his eyes he said, "wow that was cool." I KNOW he felt the spirit. I feel really good about this referral. During our conversation with him I could feel so strongly that he was ready for this message. He is AWESOME! His name is A... (:

Then we went over to our bikes. As I put on my helmet I said hi to a passerby (actually he was getting on his scooter right next to me). He said hi back so I asked how his day was. He looked surprised but we started talking. I told him I was a missionary and started to get to know him. Then sister Daye came over. We asked if he believed in God and he said yes because he had a dream about him one time. His questions led to us teaching the entire first lesson. After we told him the first vision in the first lesson he audibly exclaimed "What?!" It wasn't a doubtful what though. It was a full of faith what! SO GREAT! He was SO excited to get the Book of Mormon. During our conversation he said "I would like to be just like you and be a missionary. I know it would be hard, but I know God will help me." WHAT?! YOU'RE KIDDING! I wanted to scream. We gave him our contact information and committed him to come to church next week (because he already had shiqing [thing] this Sunday). We asked if we could give his number to the elders. The only phone he has right now is a work phone that he's actually not allowed to use. He offered us his email but we didn't take it because we didn't know what we could do with it (we probably should have taken it). We left on a really good note though and I'm sure he'll be at church next week. He's REALLY great.

A few days ago during planning we felt like we had another lesson to get in the next day but we didn't know who. We called our investigator P... JM (who's sister is a member). She set up for the next day. Our lesson with her was awesome. We taught the Plan of Salvation and when I asked her how this would change her at the end she said she wants to do what the Lord has asked in this life. When people see the end, the inside becomes much clearer. BAPTISMAL DATE! The beautiful thing is that her date is exactly a year after her sisters... They will work together to get their mom baptized.. I'm positive!

I LOVE BEING HERE!

Last thing. We've had the same taxi driver twice.  We ran into him on our bikes yesterday. He's great. Not ready quite yet, but he's gonna be ready very soon.

Okay that's all. Do work!

Oh wait. Ready Alma 14:1-2. Sometimes this is how I feel. LOL!

I love you all! Share the gospel with your friends!

Love Cae

Another letter from the princess...

*Editor's note:  I'm not really editing anything anymore...you pretty much get the whole thing a Micaela writes it.  Enjoy...

OKAYYYYY FAMILYYY! I hope this letter finds you well.

I forgot to bring my things to send pictures. Whoopsies!

I have a few things on my list to write.

There are two foods that I LOVE that I can't believe I haven't mentioned yet. First. Zhuabing. We get it for breakfast all the time and I just want to eat it every second of everyday. I can't explain what it's like. Try looking it up first. Second. Fantuan. It like a bunch of stuff wrapped up in rice. Also hard to explain. Moral of the story is that they are SO delicious.

Okay next. I feel like I spoke kind of harshly last week. I'm sorry if I came off too strong. I think the reason I do that is because there are a lot of people- here and all over the world that are so apathetic. I feel very strongly that that is NOT position anyone should be in. I just hope you all know how much my heart is invested in this work. I am comforted knowing that I think my family all is very invested in building up the Kingdom of God too. That's a really good thing to do with your time.

Garrett and Braeden, your missions are coming up. Wow. I have a few things to say about that. First, read your scriptures every day. As you prepare, Satan will throw VERY difficult temptations and things in your way. He will also try to make you feel bad about yourself. Anytime you start to feel like you can't do it-- read a verse. You CAN do it. Missions are so great.  You really will love Taiwan (because I hope that's where you serve!). I have to be honest though. It's not always easy. And it's not always the best day of your life. I get sad out here too sometimes. Sometimes I don't feel like I'm doing a good job. Sometimes I even wish that I could be at home with all of ya'll. But the feeling I get when someone tells me they want to learn more about the church makes it all worth it. So we keep on going.

Last week I had a really cool experience with an investigator. This is such a miracle. She is slowly putting the pieces together. She was baptized in another church and she is very very Christian so we have to help her put the pieces together. Last Wednesday we took our English class on a church tour. It went really well and the spirit was really strong. We explained to them what baptism is and how we need proper authority and that the authority has been restored (because it was gone). We also taught them what the gift of the Holy Ghost is. It was a great lesson. Afterwards, I was talking to this particular investigator. She asked me how I came to know the Book of Mormon was true. I told her my experience. After she said, "I really believe it is true." I WANTED TO CRY! AND SCREAM! AND DANCE! AND JUMP! AND SING PRAISES! She doesn't quite understand what this means yet, but SHE IS PROGRESSING! We had a lesson with her a few days after. She has so many questions about things so we spend a lot of time answering these. We used doctrine from bits and pieces of the lessons to help her but didn't teach the 3rd lesson like we planned. We wrote down the steps of the doctrine of Christ and said we'd explain it later. She asked what the gift of the Holy ghost was so I explained to her the difference between the gift and the power. She said she's really excited for our next lesson to learn more. Her peike (member fellowshipper) is awesome. He gave her a Liahona that has answers to a few of her questions. Basically she is progressing. She came to a fireside last night.. showed up late and sat in the back, but after seeing the temple she really wants to come back and go on a temple tour. SO GREAT!

Speaking of temple tours we go and take the role of temple square sisters about once every transfer. It's really great. We've actually done it twice so far. It's really cool to take people on tours of the church building/visitors center. We can show them films and different pictures. Last we take them to a window with a great view of the temple and tell them what they are all about. It's a really neat experience. We did a bunch of tours this past Saturday. One lady was so surprised by all the American girls who are wearing modest clothes and speaking Chinese. Her only impression of America is what she saw on the movie American Pie. I wanted to cry. There are so many girls who are members of the church who have really high standards. I wish that was the norm. Unfortunately it's not. We really are so lucky to have such high standards. Girls in the church are never objectified. How great is it that we can stand on our own two feet? We know who we are and what our purpose is. We are respected by everyone and blessed greatly. When a girl dresses modestly and has high standards, you realize that she is more than just a girl. She is a daughter of God with a great potential. But when a girl chooses to dress immodestly and behave badly, to the world she looks like just another object. STICK TO YOUR STANDARDS! It makes all the difference.

I'm trying hard to enjoy each day. Sometimes I do get sad though and feel like I'm not doing a good job. There is a lot to do and if I forget one thing sometimes I get down on myself. There is a lot of pressure. When I mess up in a job or in school I don't worry. I can still go to the Celestial kingdom. My salvation is fine. But this is other people's salvation. THERE IS SO MUCH RIDING ON WHAT I DO OUT HERE! Eeek. It's scary. 

Our sweet little 16 year old is doing well. This last week we encouraged her to try a different approach to asking for her mom's permission. Her mom has the wrong idea about what baptism is and so won't even listen to her talk about it. So M decided that the best option would be to write her a letter explaining exactly the commitment she would be making (including some of the commandments she is promising to keep. What mother wouldn't want to hear their daughter say that they are committing to never drink alcohol and dress modestly etc etc?). She said she gave her mom the letter the other day. Her mom took it into her room. She hasn't said anything about it since. It's on the schedule to ask for permission again on Wednesday though. We're all praying for her. Her faith is very evident. I really hope this happens. Of course I know that everything is on the Lord's timing, but we are all praying hard for her mom's permission. I know it would mean so much to her. I'm amazed by how much I love her. I don't do well at having conversations with people because my Chinese is still basic, but I can feel God's love for people so I love them more than I ever  would have if I  was just getting to know them outside of a missionary setting.

You'd be amazed by how many people fit on a bike... a lot.

During last English class I decided that it's my turn to sit at the desk welcoming people and making phone  calls. I called one of our other investigators. She didn't answer but called me back soon. I answered. "An Jie Mei?" she said. I told her it was me. Then she told me how thrilled she is to finally get to talk to me. She said she's been busy lately but she really wants to meet me. I asked her if she's had the chance to read the Book of Mormon. She said not much. I encouraged her to do that and she said she would. Also that night I called another investigator who we haven't been able to have much contact with and she set up a lesson with us for this upcoming week. Such a blessing! I'm starting to enjoy making phone calls even though it scares me every time I get started.

This week I also had the chance to go on an exchange with Sister Sutton in Tucheng. It was such a great experience. We had a couple hours to go out and we ended up having 3 lessons on the street. It was cool to see people change so quickly. The first lesson we had was with this young man. We talked for a bit getting to know him. After we prayed we asked how he felt. He said he's never felt so peaceful. Of course we taught him what that meant. Later he prayed too. We committed him to keep praying and he said we could give the Elders his number. He also intends to come to English class. It was really a neat thing to work with her. She's a great missionary and I learned so much. I hope she knows that she's doing a good job and that I really look up to how hard she works. This week I'm gonna go out with Sister Wu. I'm really excited to learn from her too!

Something else I learned from my time in Tucheng. My apartment here in Xin Zhuang is a CASTLE! It's so big. I have my own bathroom. I have my own room to change in. It's huge and I am so blessed. I may never want to leave Xin Zhuang.

I have a new favorite hymn. I still will always love "Come Come Ye Saints" but now I love another. "Dear to the Heart of the Shepherd." #221. It makes me tear up everytime. That's me. That's my call. I hope I do it well.

Oh so I'm learning so much from other missionaries-- I don't feel like I'll ever be fully trained. But listen to this. At the transfer meeting that my companion will go home to find a husband I'll get a new comp. Obv. At that point 17/20 sister companionships will be a trainer and a trainee... That makes me a likely target to train. I don't know how I feel about that. I hardly know what I'm doing. We're expecting almost 100 new missionaries by the Summer time. I don't think people realize what the age change is doing. It affects many people individually yes. But we are literally FLOODING the world with the Book of Mormon. People here know who the people on bikes are. Now they will DEFINITELY have the chance to talk to them. The world has NO idea what is coming. Remember that stone cut out of the mountain that Daniel talks about? Yeah it is picking up some SERIOUS speed.

Okay thats pretty much it. I have 9 minutes to tell you about all the things I have learned in my studies this week.

I love reading the conference talks. Go find them. Read them. Love them.

I love what Pres. Uchtdorf says. He tries to imagine Christ being busy and rushed and can't picture it. We should be like that. Enjoy every moment. They tend to be fleeting. Read Elder Ballard's talk. He talks about praying to recognize opportunities to serve. That's interesting. We don't pray to have opportunities because they are already all over. We need to pray to recognize the ones we have. 

In the scriptures I have read through Alma 17. Also I just finished the Gospel of Matthew. It was awesome to read about Christ's resurrection. It really is glorious news. In Alma 17 the sons of Mosiah and Alma recognize that they sacrifice so much. It's true. But the blessings that come from it are eternal. I need to really keep that perspective in mind.

Braeden said I don't share enough scriptures. I'll give you one to read right now. Alma 14:11-13. The spirit asks us to do hard things sometimes. Then read about what Alma and Amulek deal with before the walls of the prison fall down (vs 17-29ish). That is some serious stuff. They were so protected though. I promise that as long as we rely on God. As long as we rely on the spirit-- the walls, the temptations, the persecutions of others, the self doubts, the depression, whatever it is that is holding you back-- they will fall. They will fall big. They will crush everything around it and leave you safe and ready to press forward. Trust in that promise.

I love you all so much!

And even more than what you just imagined. LOVE MICAE(: