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(:
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