“This week was wild!”

President Peterson<

This week was wild! It was filled with exchanges, Zone Conference, ward activities, and never enough time to get everything done, but it was amazing! It was honestly one of my most productive weeks as a missionary if you look at the “numbers”. So why did I never feel like I was doing enough? Why didn’t I feel adequate to do what the Lord had called me to do?

We had some lessons this week, where we could plan and do role plays all we wanted to, but when we hit the lesson and plans change, millions of questions are asked, members present teach doctrine that isn’t true, and no one left feeling lifted up or touched by the Spirit. And it hurt. It hurt my heart. Hurt that I couldn’t help them. Hurt that my companion told me she couldn’t feel the Spirit or my love for the people as we were teaching (and I love these people so very much!). It just hurt.

It became really easy to focus on all the things I wasn’t good at as a missionary. My brain, which loves to make lists, just started listing everything out that I was not perfect at doing.

Okay now rewind…The first quote was something my Mission President had said during Zone Conference, and he is honestly one of the best examples I’ve met of letting the Spirit guide your life!

God is using me anyways!

I’m not perfect! He’s giving me weaknesses to learn how to rely on Him. I had a desire to serve, so I was called to the work. Nowhere does it say, I’ve got to be perfect and know everything to be an effective instrument in God’s hands. He is going to use imperfect little me anyways because I’m here, and I told Him I wanted to help His children.

So how did He let me help his children this week?

On exchanges I went with Sister Lee to her area to teach a family that they been teaching for a while. We walked in with some questions we wanted to ask and “The Family: A Proclamation to the World” to share. You see this family just wants to help raise their 3 daughters in this crazy world. As we asked questions, the father, who is usually very disinterested started to bear testimony of how trying to live the Gospel has already helped him become a better father. The Spirit was so strong and I was able to bear testimony of how having the Gospel in my home blessed me growing up. The mom pulled me aside after the lesson and told me that my testimony truly helped her. She told me she had a desire to get baptized but was just waiting for her husband who she thinks finally has that same desire.

This weekend was also the Mid-Autumn Festival or the Moon Festival which is a major Chinese holiday! It’s a holiday weekend spent with extended family and mainly spent barbecuing. On the main day of the festival, we felt the need to go visit one of the oldest members in our ward. Her family was all in other places, and so she was all alone. She shared stories with us about her children and grandchildren and she profusely thanked us for stopping by to “cheer up her lonely heart”. I love her!

We have a friend that we are teaching who really wants to be baptized on October 5. A little bit of background first. He started meeting with Elders a few months ago. Life got busy, the Elders got transferred, he went back to college. No one had seen him at church in a while. He randomly shows up. After Sacrament [meeting] he walks up to me and the ward mission leader and says “I know it’s true. The peace and happiness I feel here is so different than anything else. Help me get ready to be baptized.” Let’s just say we sat down and reviewed lessons one through three and he just soaked it all in…grinning the entire time!

The last experience I’ll share is about my favorite kind of missionary work…rescuing lost sheep. Many of you can recall all the time and effort spent with less active members in Taidong. Well it appears it may be no different here. One of the friends we are teaching, Amy, sent us the number of a friend and said, “Hey, call this person, I want them at my lesson tonight!” Our thoughts were along the lines of, “Cool! A referral!” Well we tried calling but she didn’t answer. Anyways, so we invite Amy to our ward BBQ for Saturday night, and she brings this other friend. I get talking to this other friend and actually find out she was baptized 20 years ago into our church. She fell away for reasons no one really knows. She wants help coming back and has been reading the Book of Mormon every day for years, she just wasn’t sure how to come back to church. Wow! I am so excited to help her feel the love and power of Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ again!

God truly does qualify those He calls. I’m so grateful to be here doing His work!

Funny things that happened this week:

1. Sunday it’s pouring rain. After being drenched biking home from church for lunch, I shower and put on all clean clothes. The weather looks to be cooperating, but in the time it took us to get from our front door of our apartment to outside riding bikes it starts pouring rain again and the first thought out of my mouth without thinking is, “Satan controls the weather haha!” I was teased relentlessly the rest of the night hahaha

2. I was in English class and we were talking about why Americans don’t go to the hospital for trivial diseases and an older Taiwanese man in my class sits up straighter and in perfect English says, “Taiwanese go shopping at hospitals” Haha I literally died of laughter.

3. Ate some BBQ squid this week as well as some extremely oversalted shrimp. I’ll be honest Haha the squid was amazing! Never thought I would say that!

I hope you all have a great week!

I love you all so so so much!!!

安姐妹