Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Monday, June 24, 2013
chronicle of Vasha 22
Well hello one and allllll!!!!
First order of business.....I've moved to The GAOXIONG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yessssssssssssssss!!!!!!
This is the coveted zone of my mission: Gaoxiong West is the
BEST!....hahahaha okay maybe i just really wanted to be in this EXACT area since
I did the English Training back in February/March....can't remember when that
was....bahhhhhh! I'm also in Elder Gish's ward/area/district! (He was in Sister Burrows MTC group) Remember him? So last
Sunday/Monday we were waiting on edge all day for the phone call to find out if
Sister McKay or I would be training....praying that we wouldn't. Houla (good thing) neither of us got the call so we were SUPER
excited! then on Thursday morning we got the call inviting us to Dan Jones with
the new missionaries! I was so excited because I LOVE DAN JONES-ing! So before
we were going to head over to Yi Zhong Jie for dinner, we were at the Mission
Office picking up supplies and President Bishop came in and was like "Can I talk
to you two for a moment in my office?"
We were like "oh oh ...DANG IT!" so we went in and sat down...I was trying
to figure out what I did wrong THIS TIME and he was like "I just want you to
know that I know that I told you in Interviews that one of you would be training
this next movecall, but we only had 4 sisters come in so we did need that many
trainers it's not because I think you are inadequate." I was thinking I'm
actually really glad I'm not and don't feel bad at all!!!! Then, "also I'm
really pleased with what you have been doing building up Beitun and I'm going to
keep you two together to prepare it for training next movecall. I don't know for
sure that you'll be training with the new president, but it's most likely." So
we were like alright....so we're gonna stay...YESSS!!!! I absolutely LOVE Beitun!
So we went and bought food and were getting reading for the next
movecall....THEN Saturday morning during personal study I was out with my
Liahona and scriptures making my breakfast and I hear our cell number being
recited in the other room, Sister Hsiao came out and I was like who are you
giving our number to? She said, its President Bishop! I GRABBED all my dongxi
and fled into the bedroom yelling to my comp "He's calling! He's calling right
now! PRESIDENT IS CALLING!" so she answered and I was convinced that he was
calling to tell her that she was emergency training, because one of the trainers
got really sick and is going home but NOOOOO!!!!! "I've tried everything I can,
to arrange it to keep you two together, but.......I need Sister Burrows to be Da
Tongban (Senior Comp)" NOOOOOOO! then he couldn't remember where I was going or
with who. I had to wait until 10:15 that night to find out! Now I'm in Xiaogang
with Sister Laurie Haupt! And I'm her "breaker," her second companion in her
3rd movecall.....I'm way young to go senior so everyone is like shocked! but
everyone is going senior earlier now, especially the sisters because of all the
new missionaries. luckily....her Chinese is PERFECT!!!! YESSSS! She's from
Springville, and she's studied Chinese since she was like 13. She's also a
professional pianist and has toured to Asia....Super Lihai (amazing. Sister Burrows and Sister Haupt can have fun playing duet
on the piano).
Sorry this email doesn't really fit the usual mold, but it's been super
crazy today and this last week! Everyone in Beitun Ward was really upset that I
was leaving and I'm sad to leave, I loved them soooo much, but I'm excited to be
in a new place and getting to meet new people!!!
I'm so scared to go senior comp, so prayers sent my way would be
appreciated! Also I need to super nuli (work harder)
and just be a good example to other missionaries....one of our zone
leaders in my old area told me I need to be a better example hahahah , well the
work is good, my mission is crazy (but what's new?!), the gospel is true! Also
I've seen 47 cats since iIve gotten to taiwan, but apparently there are way more
down here in the south, so I'm going to have to pay special attention!
Hope on. Journey on. and Never stop believing!!!!! Thank you Grandpa and grandma for the money. I am very grateful. I
will write you a real letter.
LOVE, Bao Jiemei <3
P.S. Daddy, we mostly get new investigators through English, Streeting
(Street Contacting), and depending on the area, Housing (or tracting). In Beitun
we went Housing a lot because we didn't have a large investigator pool, but here
in Xiaogang, Sister Haupt says they don't go housing very often, but we'll see!
We also get self contacted sometimes by random people.
Hey Mummy, I don't know if this is possible, but if you could put some
money in my account tomorrow, that would be great. Sorry. This has been an
expensive transfer/movecall. I have to pay to ship all my stuff down, and
they'll reimburse it all, but that takes a few weeks and I hve to have my stuff
shipped down here.
Hey I just want to say Thank you for Everything...and I LOVE YOU! I hope
you both have splendid weeks! LOVE LOVE LOVE you both!!!!
After fixing her companion's bike, and going uphills to their destination. I am sure sister Burrows is quite in her element.
Sister Burrows has become quite adept at fixing bikes
After fixing her companion's bike, and going uphills to their destination. I am sure sister Burrows is quite in her element.
Saturday, June 22, 2013
Monday, June 17, 2013
chronicle of Vasha 21
Subject: Dedications, Baptisms, and Amazing Fathers
Before anything else, I just want to say
thank you and Happy Father's Day to all you amazing men that have been father
figures and examples to me in my life. Thank you all for blessing my life with
the power of the priesthood, and being worthy to use the power thereof! I'm
especially grateful to those family friends, ward members, leaders, bosses,
co-workers, schoolmates and all others who have been and have become amazing
fathers. Never forget the affect you have on the lives of those around
you!
Daddy I want you to know that I love you
eternally and I'm so grateful to be your daughter. Thank you for your example of
ALWAYS being obedient and full of integrity. Mr. Integrity...I'll never forget
what an inspiration you are to me and many other youth and people you have
touched throughout your career and your priesthood/church callings. You and an
incredible man and I hope that someday I can marry a man half as great as you,
and raise sons to live up to their grandfather's example. I LOVE YOU
DADDY!
Sorry we're emailing so late mummy! Sis McKay
called her Daddy/family today and so we didn't leave until later! It was really
good for her to talk to them, and they're all happy and were sharing tons of
missionary experiences with her and giving her advice and stuff! so that was
good!
Mummy, Well I love you very much and hope you
have a splendid week! Thank you for the amazing package! The skirts are really
cute! and the treats and teeth stuff and very appreciated!! :D also the shirts
fit perfectly! but because of their color, whenever i sweat....they show every
drop of sweat hahahahahaha....oh well....everyone here is sweaty and gross
anyways! I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!
SCRIPTURE OF THE WEEK:
Jacob
7:25
"Wherefore, the people of Nephi did fortify against
them with their arms, and with all their might, trusting in the God
and rock of their salvation; wherefore,
they became as yet, conquerors of their enemies."
I love
this, I think that if we remember to trust in the Lord and remember he is indeed
our Salvation, that we will never fear, and we will always be able to come off
as conqueror! yeahhhh sons! Ne 22:2
QUOTE OF
THE WEEK:
Dieter
F. Uchtdorf:
"The
restored gospel of Jesus Christ blesses lives not just when we believe it-but
much more when we live it."
This is
sooo true. We can believe something, have a testimony, without the faith and
action to follow it, we cannot deserve and receive all the blessings that God
wants to give us. He can only bless us as much as we let Him. How much are you
allowing Him to bless you?
This week has
been much better than last! It helps that I came to the realization that I
needed to get over myself! hahaha so I did. and our numbers were much higher, we
had more lessons, and it was overall more happy. :) don't you LOVE when the Lord
tries to teach you a lesson....and you actually are able to tune in and figure
it out?! SOOOO BOSS! (awesome)
This
week we had a special experience....our chapel that we started meeting at in May
is the new stake center, and last Saturday we had a Boss Baptism and the
Dedication! YEAHHHH! okay they didn't actually call it the "Boss Baptism" that's
just what I called it.....it was a big baptism though, and we had I think 8
people baptized from the various areas that live in the stake! It was sooo
great! The youngest was a 9 yr old girl, and the oldest was a 82 yr old man!
sooooooo AWESOME!
FUNNY/RANDOM/ADVENTURE STORIES:
***The
kids in the ward now call me Candy Sister in english, or Tanguo Jiemei! in
Chinese! Most of the little kids in the ward speak English actually...it's kinda
strange but really great for them! They'll get to go a lot further in school and
work if they have good English! They are soooo cute! They always come up to me
and ask if I have candy....one of them, Jaren, asked me and I gave him a piece
of candy that our investigator gave me and he knelt down, lifted it above his
head and said/growled "YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!" in a Batman voice....it
was the funniest, cutest, kinda creepiest thing ever! hahahaha he's 4 years old
and probably my best friend in the Beitun ward!
***One
of our RCs Lu Jiemei LOVES me! hahahaha she says that everytime we meet with
her, she gets to understand me and understand the way I think a little bit more.
She says that she really likes my prayers because I say whatever I want in them,
and that when we discuss gospel principles, she always knows exactly where I
stand because I'm so up front and blunt. that's all great, but she as well as
others have also said that they love me so much because I 'm just like
a 小朋友 xiao pengyou.....aka a CHILD/Young friend !
hahaha they say that I'm just like a little kid in everything I do,
so everyone loves me like they love little
kids....GREAT.
***I've
made a totally 有辦法 you banfa sign for the back of my bicycle for our
English class in Chinese characters and two English words on it: Free English. I
made one when I was in Fengyuan and I just made a new one for Beitun....on
Saturday no less than 5 people pulled me over during our travels (total space of
about 1 hour) and asked me for more information and if they could me with me!
SOOOO CRAZZZZZZZZZY! so great! love it when the Lord blesses you for your extra
efforts!
Well I
hope that everyone is doing spectacular and loving life! Remember that
everything you do, needs to be done for the LORD. What are you doing today to
serve others and further the work? Hope on. Journey on. And never stop
believing.
The
church is true, the work is good, and God will never leave
us!
教會是真實的，工作是好，神將永遠不會離開我們！
Love Bao
Jiemei 包姐妹
Monday, June 10, 2013
chronicle of Vasha 20
招呼家人和朋友！HELLO FRIENDS AND FAMILY!
I hope you've all had a spectacular week and plan on
having another wonderful leading up to Father's Day!!!
STORY OF THE WEEK:
Shane M Bowen "Agency and Accountability"
There
is a story told of an old Cherokee teaching his grandson about life. “A fight is
going on inside me,” he said to the boy. “It is a
terrible fight, and it is between two wolves. One is evil: he is anger, envy,
sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority,
lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.” He
continued, “The other is good: he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility,
kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The
same fight is going on inside you—and inside every other person
too.” The
grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, “Which
wolf will win?” The old Cherokee simply
replied, “The one you feed.”
I love this story, and I read it at a very good time! I
feel like this week, i have been feeding my Gaddianton Robber Wolf a bit more
than my Ammonite Wolf. And The lord helped me to see it. I knew that i was
getting prideful, I knew that i needed to check myself before I wrecked myself,
but I didn't, and now I know that the time to be humbled is at hand. We were
doing really great, our numbers were progressively getting higher each week, and
we were improving. Then I got prideful, not in anything that i said or did, but
inside my heart and mind. It affected my ability to work well, and this week the
numbers are not so great. Now I understand exactly what I was doing wrong, and I
will not be making that same mistake again....at least anytime soon hopefully! I
always need to check my pride.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK:
Bill Forrest: "Two men can do anything as long as one of them is the Lord."
Bill Forrest: "Two men can do anything as long as one of them is the Lord."
LOVE THIS!!! and it can definitely tie into my pride
thing....as long as I remember that I am "about my father's business" and always
involve Him in it, asking for feedback and accounting back to Him daily, I will
not forget him. I will forget myself and only remember the Lord and his precious
children!
SCRIPTURE OF THE WEEK:
3 Nephi 5:13
"Behold, i am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the son of
God, i have been called of him to declare his word among his people, that they
might have everlasting life."
I AM A DISCIPLE OF JESUS CHRIST, THE SON OF GOD. What a
great calling! What a great responsibility. We have all been called, but are we
chosen right now? Are we living our lives in a way that others can recognize us
as Christ's disciples upon sight? This is important to remember as we go about
our days making decisions and in the way that we interact with
others.
I hope that all made sense....it takes a lot of work and
thought to write these emails in full english each week! Which is super weird to
me! hahaha and i look back and realize that what I wrote was super rambly and
confusing. hahahah so sorry!!!
This week has been good, except of course being prideful
and not getting as high of numbers as we were hoping! But mei guan xi i learned
from my mistakes and this next week will be incredible I'm sure! After the Lord
is on my side!
I am going to have to get into cycling when I get
home, I love my bike so much! I feel if I had a mission that used cars, I would
struggle a lot being trapped inside and always sitting. Blegggh! Bu xi
huan!
think that i will grow my hair out....just not this
summer....because it is just way tooo hot! I do like having really long hair,
and really short hair (because it's super convenient i can let it dry it by
itself! When it's long i cannot, because it's too humid and doesn't ever
completely dry.) It's also really thick....and one of the sisters who left right
before I came had really thick long hair....and it grew mold! Even though she
washed and dried it everyday! Gross!!! I sweat way to much to have long hair
here! Anyways.... The guy who cut it is a RC from down in Gaoxiong and next time
he comes up or I go down there he'll figure how how to cut it to grow out I'm
sure. I'll probably get an a line bob next or something...thats how he cut it
for when it grew out!
FUNNY/AWKWARD/RANDOM/ADVENTURE MOMENTS:
***Awesome Zone Conference on Wednesday!!! Favorite
quote from Sister Bishop: "Figure out what stories you want to be able to tell
your children and grandchildren about your mission, then go our and make it
happen!" BOOM! Soooo good, i love this so much, and now i have to think about
the stories i want to tell you each week, and then go make it
happen!
***We met with a new investigator Zhen Jiemei! She's so
great and super friendly! She's really funny and was very concerned that i'm not
allowed to date while on my mission because "what if you fine a nice Taiwanese
boy here!? And you cannot date?! Taiwanese boys are very bu cuo! THey are very
nice....if they're Taiwanese....not Indonesian or Philippians....but
Taiwanese.....no boy is going to wait for you for 1 and a half years....no
matter how beautiful you are or how good you Chinese is! Zenme ban?! Zenme Ban?!
What then?! What will you do?!?!" She was very concerned for my future!
hahahahah i told her when i go home i can date and that i'll probably marry an
american....then she asked if i could come back and marry a Taiwanese boy when
i finished my mission. "My son is 30 and very handsome! He has a good job and
takes me out to eat all the time! He's not too fat and not too skinny!" i was
like good for him! hahahahaha she also really wanted us to go out drinking with
her....she said she'd treat us "for free!" then showed us pictures of her and
her friends partying and doing shots. Oh btw she's 52!!! Hahahaha we told her
countless times we could not drink...and she just kept offering to take us out
anytime we had free time....So excited to keep teaching her!!!
hahahahahahha
***Random moment: I met the asian version of Orlando
Bloom (Mum, he's Legolas in Lord of the Rings and Will on Pirates of the
Carribean) when i was doing English Proselyting. It was super weird and i was
super thrown off for a second!
***The Elders' new investigator really likes me....like
really likes me....and always comes up and talks to me in between classes and
meetings at church hahahhaha and I awkwardly have to be nice and then stop the
conversation and walk away. hahahaha
***I've also seen 39 cats since I've come to
Taiwan!!!
Well that's it for now, i hope that you all have
splendid weeks! The Gospel is true, and if we remember to always keep the Lord
in our hearts, we cannot stray! I love you all!!! Remember to look for
opportunities to serve others and bear your testimony to EVERYONE!
Love, Bao Jiemei 包姐妹！
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
chronicle of Vasha 19
Nimen hao!?
Well this has been an interesting week, but also
really great! We have a few new investigators which I'll tell you about in just
a moment!
QUOTE OF THE WEEK:
Dieter F. Uchtdorf:
"Often the deep valley of our present will be
understood only by looking back on them from the mountains of our future
experience. Often we can't see the Lord's hand in our lives until long after
trials have passed. Often the most difficult times of our lives are essential
building blocks that form the foundation of our character and pave the way to
future opportunity, understanding, and happiness."
This is such an awesome quote that i found while
reading the April 2010 Conf Issue of the Liahona. So true! We truly are shaped
by the events of our lives, and also the way we react to them. The way react and
the attitude we have can help us to identify the Lord's hand in our lives, and
to develop and build our testimonies!
SCRIPTURE OF THE WEEK:
2 Kings 6:15-17
"Alas, my master! how shall we do?
"And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with
us are more than they that be with them.
"And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, i pray thee,
open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man;
and he say: and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire
round about Elisha."
Psalm 91:11
"For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to
keep thee in all they ways."
I felt like these scriptures were very
appropriate, especially since today is the day that my older brother McKay
entered the MTC 4 years ago, and two years ago today about, he would have
returned home. But although he is not here on earth with us now...I know without
a doubt in my heart that he is one of the angels given charge over me. I also
know that he is leading an army of angels by my side, helping me with my
missionary work. I have seen so many miracles on my mission thus far, and been
protected in many dangerous situations. He has guided me, and protected me
throughout it all. I know that the Lord is mindful of ALL his children, and that
he has given me a special guardian angel, my older brother McKay, to help give
me strength, protection, and guidance as i go throughout my life. Thank you
Heavenly Father, Thank you Jesus, and Thank you McKay!!!!
We had a great Sunday yesterday! 5 Investigators to church! It was sooo
great! We took over the investigator pool from the last sisters, but only two
investigators right now are the same. One has been investigating for 2 years and
is 16 yrs old. She really wants to get baptized, but her mum won't let her....so
she's just going to keep going to church and investigating with us until she
turns 20...which is how old they have to been here to be baptized without
parental consent.
English is great! I'm not a teacher, I'm actually doorman now! I like it
better :) I get to greet/meet everyone as they come in, and when they do, we
have them fill out a form with their contact information, how they heard about
our program, and then we actually ask them if they would be interesting in
meeting with the missionaries and learning about the gospel. some are some
aren't, some change their minds after class! The class is 1 1/2 hours long, the
first hour is straight English, the last half an hour is spiritual share, where
we share some part of the gospel...using English of course! It's a really good
program, we even have a really nice textbook that we've compiled and sell if
they want it. Super cheap, and the class itself if free...so really a good
deal!
I'm getting my bike fixed today! don't worry...i'm safe on the
elder's bike....I actually have grown very attached to it! hahaha except now
he's on a giant bike that's wayyyy too tall for him....so I'm more worried about
his safety!
How was the motorcycle trip? I bet Torrey is absolutely
beautiful!
ADVENTURES/FUNNY/RANDOM MOMENTS:
***This last week we also got lost on the way to
English!! I lead in our area, because since the first few days, I've been able
to remember all the streets and etc (God has truly guided me!) and I was leading
us to our English class/mtg from the mission home. I decided to take us a new
faster way, but we forgot to bring the map, so i decided to go by memory. we got LOST! It took us an hour and a half, because i took us out of our
area, out of our zone, and and we were in a super sketchy part of town
apparently where a bunch of women keep getting kidnapped from the last few
weeks.....WHOOPS! Don't worry.....WE ARE SAFE and nothing happened....what did
we learn? To always have our map...also go the longer way that we know! The
extra 10 minutes are worth it!
***We had another big earthquake during Sacrament meeting! And no one
even reacted! it was really funny...the earthquake wasn't even quite over when
the Aaronic priesthood just continued and started blessing the water. I think
that every Sunday I feel at least a small earthquake, but this one was big this
time!!!
Well I'm out of time, but I hope everyone has an amazing week and looks
for opportunities to serve others! LOVE YOU ALLLLLL!
-Bao
Jiemei! 包姐妹
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