T-3 posts left

It's been a really long week and a half because we went on three exchanges this past week-- and thus Sister Johansen and I are EXHAUSTED!! But it's been good. I left Nankan for all three exchanges so I feel especially tired! Hahah. Last Tuesday I went to Pingzhen with Sister Chen. It was awesome and we saw some really cool miracles. I learned a lot from her!! Then just two days later I went to Taoyuan City with Sister Mao. Also super awesome! Then the next day I left again to go to Bade with Sister Singh. My precious Bade. It's always good to go back! (: Anyway I found myself missing my companion a lot. Seriously Sister Johansen is a rockin friend and we need to be friends forever and ever and ever! It's been nice to be doing missionary work again with her the past couple of days.

On Saturday evening we had kind of a cool experience. We switched back at the church after and exchange and we only had about an hour and a half to eat dinner and share the gospel so it would have wasted our time to bike back to our area just to have to bike back again after dinner to see the baptism that evening. So we decided to just eat in the area and figured we'd find something to occupy our time for the other half hour. Just as we were leaving the chapel to find some food, this man and his son pulled into the church saying they wanted to see the inside. So OBVIOUSLY we gave him a church tour. He came to church the next day too! So we introduced him to the missionaries assign to his area and he became one of their solid new investigators! Such a cool miracle! And dinner was good too. (:

That evening we went to visit the X. family and they had to cancel because their dad is not too happy that missionaries come over. But they came to all of church the next day and that was cool because that's the first time they've stayed! After church we finished teaching them the lessons. We're still praying really hard that they'll be able to get baptized on my last Saturday in town. We'll see!

This past Friday we had a member of the quorum of the seventy (Elder Wilson) and his wife come and talk to us about the Book of Mormon. They emphasized that people need to have spiritual experiences with the Book of Mormon in order to know that this church is true and to stay active in it. So we've really been working hard at reading the Book of Mormon with investigators to help them get started. Also speaking of the Book of Mormon-- I'M GETTING SO FAR IN MY CHINESE BOOK OF MORMON!! I should finish soon. How about you? Whose gonna finish the Book of Mormon before I get home?

ALSO I FINISHED READING THE BIBLE YESTERDAY!! I feel so accomplished. I can officially say that I have read the whole Bible. That's a feat. So now when people question me because I read the Book of Mormon I can say I've read both the Book of Mormon AND the Bible. Yes!

So something that really stood out to me last Friday at the meeting with Elder Wilson was actually when we met with just the Sisters and Sister Wilson. She talked about a scripture in Corinthians that talks about these clay pots. She mentioned that there are these clay pots that people have in the middle east that over time as they get old they form small cracks in the sides. She said that people put a light in the bottom of the pot and a lid on top and the only way to see the light is through the cracks. I think it's interesting. We are like these imperfect cracked clay pots. Yes we have cracks, but God allows us to shine THROUGH our cracks and imperfections. So if we spend our whole life trying to look perfect and cover up those cracks, then we will never shine the way God intended us too. So the moral of the story is that: We aren't perfect, but we must embrace our imperfections and be who we are because God knows how to let us shine even when we have cracks. I LOVE THIS SO MUCH! It's so true. And I'm so NOT perfect. But I'm working on being the best version of myself that I can be.

ALSO MOM AND DAD HAPPY 29TH WEDDING ANNIVERSARY!! I've never committed to anyone for more that a month or so--- so I'm super impressed by you two!! Hahahah.

And Happy Easter!!!

This past Monday after my companion and I got back from our third exchange we had all day to go finding together. We actually saw a lot of cool miracles--- I think the Mondays that we don't have p-day always become miracle Mondays! So cool. But the best part is that right around dinner time we decided to sit down on this grassy ledge and say hi to all of the people walking on the path down below. This is when we realized that missionaries are SO good at breaking ice. We seriously just talk to anyone and everyone. It's bizarre. I was never like that before my mission. But now I can just go to anyone and strike up a conversation. I think it definitely has to do with the fact that I'm a representative of Jesus Christ. But it's cool.

Also on Monday evening we talked to this random man while we were sitting on a bench and when he left, another man (from China) who was so amazed that we were speaking Chinese came to talk to us in probably the thickest southern chinese accent I've ever heard. He was so hard to understand. But the best part is that he spit when he spoke and accidently got a massive piece of flem on the flyer we were trying to give him... and somehow the flem got on my hand. SICK!! But we did successfully give him the flyer. Hahah. And I washed my hands. SICK SICK SICK SICK!!

Anyway-- that's about all for this week. I still love my life and I'm still working hard!!