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
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