Dajia hao! Another
miraculous week has come and gone on la isla formosa!!!! (old Portuguese name
for Taiwan. Google it.)
There can be miracles
when you BELIEVE (Prince of Egypt!!!!!). This is such a true statement. This
month my mission president wants us to study the Christlike attribute of faith.
In his email to the missionaries he said, " Remember, faith is a decision,
a desire or hope to believe. Make that decision and exercise and strengthen
your faith." When we choose to have faith instead of doubting and being
full of fear, when we choose to believe in the power of an almighty God, we can
see that His miracles are all around us!!
Lately my companion
and I have been working really hard to find new investigators and to talk to
more people. Last week we had a really long day, a couple of no-shows to
appointments, and no one wanted to talk to us. It was blazingly hot, and the
sun was beating down on us all day, so we were sweating like crazy. In the
evening we biked over to a less active lady's house hoping to surprise her with
a little faith-building lesson. We parked our bikes and walked up to where she
supposedly lived. The bottom part was a restaurant and we were kind of looking
around not knowing what to do next. I think my companion called the phone
number we had for her, but no one answered. Suddenly this other girl came up
and started talking to us. She knew the person who we were trying to find and
said she wasn't around. We started talking and shared a little bit of our
message with this other woman, then invited her to come to English. She was
very friendly and a little blunt, which is pretty unusual for most Taiwanese
people.
So, this girl we met
when looking for someone else showed up to English on Wednesday and was willing
to meet with us after class. My companion went to teach another lesson, so I
taught her by myself. We didn't want to keep her long because she had already
been in English class for an hour and a half.
I just wanted to teach her about how we are all God's children, and that
He loves us so much, and that we can communicate with Him through prayer. It
was really simple. The woman offered a
prayer, then my companion came back and joined us. All of the sudden, this
woman started to open up to us. She's had some challenging circumstances in her
life that have led her to a point of really low self worth. She told us about
some of her experiences and started to cry because they were so painful to her.
Then she told us she didn't know what real love was. My heart was so full for
her. We promised her that as she continued to study the gospel, she would feel
of God's love for her, His true, pure, real love. I was so struck by how much
she needs the message we have.
We met with this woman
4 times this last week, and she came to Church on Sunday. She is very open to
learning but has a mind of her own and uses it to decide if she wants to accept
the things we teach her or to act on the invitations we give her. She's an
incredible person, and I love her so much!!! She truly is a miracle. At church
she shared her testimony in Relief Society, saying that while listening to one
of the testimonies in sacrament meeting, she felt like she got an answer to her
prayers. She also keeps a gratitude journal (an assignment from one of the
other missionaries who taught her English class). Her English is far from
perfect, but the entries are so sincere, and she always lets us read them. She
often mentions my companion and me as people she is grateful for. Yesterday she
wrote that she is grateful for our friendship and that it fills her heart with
so much happiness!!! I am so amazed at the transformations I get to see
firsthand when the truths of the gospel work in other people. It strengthens my
faith in my purpose as a missionary, and especially my faith that God is with
me in this work. This woman's story is so deep and rich, and I have barely
known her a week. As Ammon says in Alma 26, "I cannot say the smallest
part which I feel.”
I love being a
missionary. I love it so so much. I'm grateful for the reminders I receive
everyday that it's not me who helps people to believe the message of the
restored gospel, or to know that God loves them—they believe and know through
the power of the Holy Ghost. I'm so grateful that I have this chance to be a
minister of the joy and peace the gospel brings to all kinds of people of
different ages, backgrounds, personalities, and beliefs. I really believe that
every person can be blessed by the teachings of Christ when they seek to
understand and live them.
Thank you for your
sacrifices, for your prayers, for being the incredible people you all are. I am
who I am because of your influence, love, friendship, and example in my life.
Keep letting your light shine!!!
This week I was
reading in Alma 24 and 25 and was so moved by the story of the Anti-Nephi-Lehis
who chose to "[bury] their weapons of peace, or they buried the weapons of
war, for peace." I think I still carry a lot of weapons of war with me
even though I tried to leave them at the MTC. I want to invite all of you to
read these chapters and think about the things that are holding you back from
completely loving other people, from feeling God's presence in your life, and
just get rid of them!!! I know God gives us a strength beyond our own as we do
so, and our lives can be filled with great peace.
I love you all so
much!! Keep being wonderful you.
Coco/Sister Mack/Ke
JieMei
PS this week we have
sister exchanges and I get to go work in another area....yay adventures!!! :)
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