Hello!
I just want to start off with some amazing news, that one of my favorite people from XinZhu (新竹) is getting baptized on Saturday! It’s cute Huang JM who has a son named Dinosaur!
Now I wasn’t her first missionary or her last missionary, but she was one of the first people I taught on island. After a year of meeting with missionaries, having her own personal struggles, and trying her best, she has found her testimony, her relationship with her Heavenly Father, and the phone call I received from her during lunch one day literally brought me tears of joy. I am so excited for her!!
Which brings me to some other wild news!! Zeng JM has asked us to move up her baptism! Thank you to everyone for the prayers in her behalf because they have been answered!
We meet with her legit every day, so I will give you some snapshots into this weeks eventful part of the timeline with her:
Friday~Tells us she wants to get baptized the 20th instead of the 27th. Then immediately tells us she can’t come to church because she got a new job. Haha we learned that she started work at noon, so we convinced her to come to the earlier ward, but she was committed to pray about coming to church.
Saturday~Walks into the lesson and tells us she did something brave. Upon further questioning, she tells us she said a prayer in the middle of work and then asked her boss for a few hours off to come to church. Her boss said sure, just make sure you’re at work by 3pm.
Sunday~She woke up (in her own words) “feeling guilty” for not keeping the entire Sabbath Day Holy. So she called her boss and told him she wouldn’t be coming into work that day, but he would see her on Monday. Then while we were sitting in Relief Society, everyone was sharing their motivation for reading the Book of Mormon. As Zeng JM sat there telling people the Book of Mormon has changed her life, I literally sat there like a beaming mother. My heart was so happy! She said, “When I read the Book of Mormon, I feel like God is by my side watching out for me. I love that feeling so much that I often sleep holding my Book of Mormon in my arms because I never want that feeling to go away!” I literally almost started crying I was so happy!
So Haha she will be getting baptized on Saturday and everyone is pretty excited!
This week also started a new transfer, so I took some time to reflect on what had been accomplished so far in my time in TaiDong (台東). I can easily say that the biggest changes have come in terms of less active members.
On Sunday we had 4 less active members at church. Two of their statuses [had been] changed to active!
When we met with one of those this week, you could tell how much happiness has the Gospel has brought back into her life since coming back to church.
We also helped the other introduce her boyfriend to the Elders this week so that they can teach him the Gospel. She was so excited to be sharing her testimony.
In both of those instances I cried happy tears seeing how far they have come and where they are going.
This work truly is amazing! The best thing is, is that I’m lucky enough to be God’s instrument to do it!
Funny things that happened this week:
1. Our keys to the church got so hot by the blazing sun that when we put it in the door lock, instead of twisting the lock, the key literally just bent in half hahaha I wasn’t quite sure what to do with that!
2. A member took us and the Elders out to eat at a buffet. Let’s just say she started quoting some scriptures and teased the Elders about eating meat when it wasn’t the winter Haha oh dear it was funny
Haha this letter is a little scattered, hopefully it makes sense. My brain is very tired Haha
I hope you all have a great week!
I love you all so so so much!!!
安姐妹
Sister Kara Andersen 