chronicle of Vasha 30

Dear Family and friends,

 

This could be Sister Burrows last email from Taiwan. They have not been able to get her the medicine to help control the pain in her stomach. In her letter, you would never know, but she has been in tremendous pain for the last three months, some bleeding, vomiting, etc. but she keeps working, she refuse to slow down because the work is so important to her and God. They want to send her home to get better, look after, and rest and get well. She might be home as soon as next week. We will know more closer to the weekend of next week. If she gets well soon, she can choose to go back out for the last eight months or not. She is being honorably release as of the time when she gets home. Thank you for all your prayers and fasting. Unless a miracle happens, we will see her next week. It will take a miracle to keep her there.

 

 

On Aug 18, 2013, at 10:05 PM, Naivasha Burrows <naivasha.burrows@myldsmail.net> wrote:

Hello everyone

Well we had an exciting week! but i don't have a lot of time, so i'll just tell you some highlights and give a better update next week!!!!

ADVENTURES/AWKWARD MOMENTS/COOL THINGS of the WEEK:

 ***we spent monday in the hospital trying to find some medication and talk to a doctor....we found one and tried a medication, but meiyou yong it did not work;( then....it was good we went on monday and I got to know the hopsital so well because sister W ended up having to go on Tuesday because she got a really bad ear infection! oh no! so we went and we saw an ENT, he gave her some meds, and now shes all good! 

***Tuesday we had an awesome ZTM up in Shihzhong so we got to metro up there and see some peeps. it was awesome because I got to see Carson Jardine again! It's so weird seeing him now he's all grown up. Definitely not a sophomore in HS anymore! it makes me feel old like my baby is all grown up....except iIm not that old and he's not my baby....hahahahaha

***Wednesday was English Class! We're now the next Advanced class teachers and it was sooo fun! We had a good time teaching about Health and I think some parts I got a little to excited and a little too advanced talking about anti-inflammatory medication and stuff, but it was good and they like it! We had a lot of fun!

***Thursday we had lunch with an LA and ate some delicious food at a cheap little place and then met with some awesome RCs. They're so amazing! That night a family in the ward also had us and the Elders over for dinner and it of course was DELICIOUS! yummmm thank you Lin Jiating! :D

***Friday we had our Weekly Investigator/RCLA FHE! So much fun! Snoopy, the one from last week who like to look at my FB told me that I look just like Catwoman (halle berry) and that my personality is the same....he meant it as a compliment...came off a little creepy....but hey if it leads to his baptism and eternal conversion...keyi! hahahahaha

***Friday also received a blessing from Elder Gish to make sure that I was doing what I needed to be doing, and all I can say is that God loves me so much and will guide me in all things if I just trust in him!

***Saturday...we met with our LA Cherry Song THREE TIMES!!!! hahaha first time we just ran into her, set up with her for later because we had a lesson, then we forgot something she tried to give us at her house, so she came and found us at the park while we were having language study and calling phones, so we had Sis W practice teaching her the Plan of Salvation.....we found out a lot of her needs that day. 

***Sunday we started the morning off right by going to the Comic Convention (cosplay?) and handing out tracts for english and church! then we rode with Cherry to church on our bikes. She showed us a shortcut that was NOT A SHORTCUT! hahahaha but it was fine and we still got there early! Church was great and our convert Amber Chen got a calling! She's now one of our ward missionaries! She's gonna be soooo great! love her so mucH! Eternal conversion baby!!!!!!!!! YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

well that's all I can think of right now, but just know that I know that this church is true. more so I know this Gospel is true. and that only through and with our Saviour Jesus Christ and His Atonement can we be made whole. but we really truly can be made whole...and come back from ANYTHING! I love this work so much, and these people so much! I'm so honored to have this opportunity to serve with and for them and to help them come to the knowledge that they are all literally children of God! I also know that when we trust in the Lord and follow his ways, when we align our will with His, He will tell us what we need to do and how to do it. What we want is not always what it right. God won't give us what we want, he will give us what we need. So to get what we want, we need to know what He wants for us. This gospel message is so AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I love you all and hope you have splendid weeks. thank you for the love and support! Hope on. Journey on. and Don't stop believing EVER!

Love Bao Jiemei!!! 包姊妹<3 <35C.gif> Vash

Chronicle of Vasha 29

Well hello there Everyone!

I hope everyone had great weeks and i just wanted to say thank you for all the prayers and fasting. They were felt and appreciated! :D

 

Also thank you Burrows Clan for the AMAZING package and cute notes. It made my day and came at a really good time. THANK YOU!

QUOTE OF THE WEEK:

Boyd K. Packer:

"Now, fathers, I would remind you of the sacred nature of your calling. You have the power of the priesthood directly from the Lord to protect your home. There will be times when all that stands as a shield between your family and the adversary’s mischief will be that power. You will receive direction from the Lord by way of the gift of the Holy Ghost.

The adversary is not actively disturbing our Church meetings—perhaps only occasionally. By and large we are free to assemble as we wish without much disruption. But he and those who follow him are persistent in attacking the home and the family. The ultimate end of all activity in the Church is that a man and his wife and their children might be happy at home, protected by the principles and laws of the gospel, sealed safely in the covenants of the everlasting priesthood. Every law and principle and power, every belief, every ordinance and ordination, every covenant, every sermon and every sacrament, every counsel and correction, the sealings, the calls, the releases, the service—all these have as their ultimate purpose the perfection of the individual and the family, for the Lord has said, “This is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.”

This last week was 8月8日 so in Taiwan that's baba day, or in other words: Fathers Day! during my personal studies this week, I came upon this quote  and I loved it so much! I haven't thought so much about my future, especially future family, more than I have while on my mission, especially lately. I just have seen and learned so much that I want to apply to my future family, so that I might have a strong marriage and children that stay strong and steadfast in the Church. While i read this quote i thought about my father and how amazing he is, and yes there will be "times when all that stands as a shield between your family and the adversary’s mischief will be that power." I know that i am incredibly lucky to have such an amazing father who was/is a wonderful example to me and my family. He's always remained worthy to hold not just the Authority of the Priesthood, but the Power as well. He and my mum have been so amazing in keeping our family centered on the gospel of Jesus Christ. Everyday when I bear testimony of families and their eternal potential to people, I'm so glad that I can tell them of the good relationships that I have with my family members and of the amazing up bringing that I had. Thank you to all those, especially my parents, who've always been incredible examples to me!! :D

Scripture of the Week:
Proverbs 4:7, 14-15
"7 Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.14 ¶Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men. 15 Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away."

I truly believe that we have an obligation to get wisdom and to be able to decipher for ourselves what is good, what is wicked, and have the mental, emotional, and spiritual maturity to be about to "avoid, pass not by it, turn from, and  pass away" all evil things. I had somewhere else i was hoping to take this thought, but i'm having a really hard time focusing so i'll just end with that. 

AWKWARD/FUNNY/WEIRD/AWESOME MOMENTS OF THE WEEK:
***Every week we have an Investigator Activity/FHE for all our I's and RCLA's. This last Friday, Snoopy, an investigator, came up to me with this ipad and showed me my facebook that he had pulled up. He was talking about how beautiful he thought I used to be, then asked me why I was less pretty now! hahahahaha I told him it was because I am a sister missionary and we can't be too beautiful or it would be distracting to people hahahaha he also told me my brothers are incredibly shuai (handsome) and that my didi (little brother) looks just like Taylor lautner! hahahahahaha
***There is a little boy in my ward named Yi Hao. He's one of our amazing/golden RC's son. he is 3 1/2 and loves to run around like crazy at church and home and stuff. He's super cute, just super active and loud....but I've compeletely got him trained now! I bring fruit snacks and treats that my family sent me...the only problem is that now at any church event/meeting he will not sit with anyone but me. hahaha but when he sits with me he is very quiet and will draw and play with the pens, paper, and cards I give him. I figure his mum appreciates the break sinces she's 7 1/2 months pregnant and her husband is a non-member. Who says we can't figure out ways to serve young mothers while still keeping within the rules? yeah yeah yeah!
***Xiaogang's Got Talent!!! Wow I was invited to perform in a RS talent show so I figured why not? get to know the sisters in the ward, etc. Then I show up with music that I planned on just sight reading, no practice and what do you know.....It's a ward-wide talent competition!! Wow I was NOT prepared, but I performed anyways and it was fine...THEN they invited us missionaries to do an impromptu musical number/talent. Good thing Elder Gish is pro at the guitar and Sis W is good at singing! We hurried and pulled together a duet with us singing and Elder G on the guitar to Howie Day's "Collide"....and it was TERRIBLE!!!! but the ward loved it so no worries!!!
***Our investigators that have been progressing along nicely came to church! and one of them was from the Philippines and speaks no Chinese....so i had to translate! wow I didn't know how much I really actually understood...and how much english I'd forgetten how to say out loud until that moment! but yeah....it's good I guess!

Yeah. I guess the point is I'm not in control. I just have to not be so weak and just continue on.Trying not to fall off your bike and trying to continue on may be all people like Parley P. Pratt could do some of the time when things got hard and he was sick. I'm not sure how productive he was at times either. Not sure we would know today what it was like then. Also, I'm not sure what my point is either. Just rambling. I love you. Dad

Mommy and Daddy, thanks for all you are trying to do. just so you know....just because you pray for something and you don't get it, doesn't mean God is ignoring your prayers. it just means that's not what is best for you at the moment.  I guess being healthy is not what's best for me right now. but that's okay. God will do what he wants and help me out in his own way. hope you have a great week! love you both so much! continue to have fun with the YSAs :D 

 

Well that's all the time I have today, sorry for the unfocused and scattered thoughts! Hopefully next week will be better! I love you all and know that God and our Saviour love and know you all as well. Strive to find opportunities to continue to serve those around you and remember that you are His beloved children. LOVE YOU ALL!!!

Love Bao Jiemei!!! 包姊妹<3  Vash

chronicle of Vasha 28

Hey Everyone!

Sorry I have exactly 15 minutes to type this....I'm super bad at managing my email time apparently....so I've you've emailed me lately and I haven't responded....I'M SOOO SORRRRY!

 

Hey mom, I've been doing a lot of experimenting with diet and stuff. I eat things everyday (like veggies) that I never would have eaten before. Don't worry....we'll actually be able to eat salad and healthy food when we go out now! I eat that stuff now.....the horror!!! *gasp!* haha just kidding :)  really I''ve been trying to figure this out on my own for about 3 months now.

 

QUOTE OF THE WEEK:

If life was like Pokemon, Humility would ALWAYS beat out Pride. - Sister Burrows

Wow.....everyday, every week i get humbled more and more. No one can control their situation and circumstances, but you can control how you react. I've had a few struggles with my new companionship, but it's okay now. Because the Lord has got my back like always and I pray a lot. like all day everyday. Because I really need his help if I am to survive, if I am to do his work with success. You cannot do the Lord's work without the Spirit. And you cannot have the spirit if you are prideful. Jiuduile!(truly) Good thing my parents taught me the beautiful art of always saying sorry....even if you don't know what it is you've done or what you are sorry for....always be the first person to apologize! Always be the first person to say sorry! That is what I learned this week. (that it is more important to say sorry or apologize so that the spirit can be present than to be right.)

Well this week has been super interesting. Relations with the ward are great, and it's all been working out amazing. I love this area so much and the ward so much! Oh also....I'M TRAINING!!! yeah! also.....i'm really really bad at it apparently! I didn't even know how bad i was at it until i was informed by my trainee. yeah.....But it's okay. we're working through it!

Also Sister Haupt has obviously moved.....bummer! Because I love her so much! We had some really good times together. My transfer with her is exactly how I imagined a transfer was supposed to go. Obedience, Love, Patience, Hard work, Success, Fruits of your Labors...and all that. A mission never goes how you think it will, but it's usually pretty magical. Things are never more up and more down that on a mission! but you also never feel the Spirit and the Lord's support so strongly! It's amazing! I'm so grateful for all the experiences I've had thus far and for many more to come! 

So surprise movecall announcement! Elder Gish is STILL here in Xiaogang! He's officially the King of Xiaogang and by the end of this movecall...he will have been in his first area for 7 1/2 months! SOOOO LONG!!! Also he's going District Leader and Senior Comp this movecall! Soooo GOOOD! He was my DL in the MTC and I know he'll do just as amazing out in the field. Also my favorite ZL I've ever had is going home today! He's finished up his mission and is headed back home to Alpine, UT. His name is Jeff Stark and apparently we went to Lone Peak together....but never knew each other! huh! So our new Zone leader is going to be Elder Hellburg. He's soooo freaking tight! I served with him when I was up in Beitun. He's gonna be amazing....probably will be my 2nd favorite ZL ever!!! This will be the best district ever!!!

FUNNY/AWKWARD/STRANGE/ADVENTURE MOMENTS:

***People here in Taiwan will be like...."I'm going to go take the dogs for a run!" (there are a gazillion stray and not stray dogs here) and then they'll go get on their little motorized scooters (mopeds) and ride around while the dogs run around....hmmmmm good exercise!

***I accidentally punched my ward mission leader in the head.....at ward correlation....while he was discussing with the elders their investigators! He had a whole swarm of mosquitoes above his head, so I went to swat them away....really miss-aimed and maybe had some depth perception issues....and instead punched him in the head! his response: "Ni da wo!"(You hit me) hahahahaha he started laughing....I started awkward laughing and apologizing! hahaha he's 26 and just got home from his mission last december from Taibei. He's super cool! and knows how to take a punch! ahahahaha

***I got hit by a BUS! it was speeding by me....my tire hit a pothole and I got caught into the slipstream of the bus....iIstarted to almost go under and I did the only thing I could think of....I stiff-armed the bus (must be rugby reflexes) and pushed myself off and was fine! but it was all so quick that I didn't even have time for an adrenalin rush! Scary! hahah when I told Elder Gish he asked me if I broke the bus.....hahahhahaha such a good rep I got!

Well I have no time, but I love you all! I hope you all have splendid weeks and know that the Lord loves each and every single one of you! He knows exactly who you are! The church is true. God is our Heavenly Father. Jesus is our Saviour and elder brother. and through the Atonement, we can overcome ANYTHING! Be worthy of the Spirit and strive to be humble! Hope on. Journey on. BElieve on. I LOVE YOU ALLL!!!!

Love Bao Jiemei!!! <3  Vash

naivasha.burrows@myldsmail.net

chronicle of Vasha 27

WOAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THAT"S SOOOOO GOOOD! ahhhhhhhhhh! THis is huge news! OH MY 

GOODNESS!!!!!!!!You're going to be the best ever! and this will be good for mama as

 well!!! (Dana has been called to be the first counselor at BYU to Bishop Paul Hansen of BYU 168 ward)

I have extactly 6 minutes to type this email so i apologize for the shortness and lameness of it! 

AMBER GOT BAPTIZED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YEAHHHH SON!!!!!!!!! BOOOOM! She's gonna be

 the most golden, active, eternally converted member EVER! The baptismal service was also 

amazing and the ward actually participated, attended, and provided refreshments after! 

That has NEVER happened in Xiaogang! It's amazing and i'm soooo glad that our efforts of working with the ward are paying off! Also her baptism was the quickest, literal "dunking" i've ever seen! Her friend Bro Hong (age 20) baptized her and she told him before hand that if he failed the first time she'd have someone else do it.....so he threw her under the water and yanked her back up...in like .05 seconds! hahahahahaha soooo freaking funny!!! But she was in an out and he did not fail! SUCCESS! 

Sister Haupt and I are doing really great! I had a bit of a humbling experience this week, and 

I'm continuing to pray for humility and patience. I was in the wrong this week and was 

corrected by our new Zone Leader in an awkward way aka he was super not tactful and 

there was no increase of love! (D&C 121) I did not handle the situation very well and got 

defensive. I apologized about an hour later  I need to be obedient humble. I set a goal to be 

humble and obedient to ALL my leaders, whether or not i agree with their xiangfa. I'm 

continuing to be humbled and taught lessons be the Lord everyday, maybe someday i'll 

finally learn! Because of this experience, i've also decided to study Humility, Obedience, and

 Patience this week in my personal study. I pray the Lord with help me to become the

 missionary and follower he needs me to be. 

RANDOM STORY:

***I LIFTED AN OLD LADY ONTO THE BACK OF A SCOOTER AT 8:56 pm Saturday 

night on the way home from the baptism. We had to be home by 9pm since we did not have a lesson, and we were hauling down the street when i see this like 90ish yr old lady with a cane and a huge empty water jug tottering down the middle of the highway....so i told sis haupt we were gonna be late getting home and pulled over. we saw a guy pull up to her on his scooter and we watched to see if he would give her a ride, but he just tried to herd her over to the sidewalk to she would be a danger to the cars! what the?! so we rode over to her, and this 20 something girl pulled up on her scooter and tried to help her but we finally tried to  convince her to go with the girl. so  we had to get her onto the back of the scooter.....no easy feat! it took three of us with me holder her under her arms.....wow she was sweaty!....but we got her all settled, sent her on her way, and i'm just gonna assume it all went okay and she got her water? yeah yeah yeah!!!!!!

Well that's all the time i have today, but i love you all and hope you all have splendid weeks! Hope On. Journey On. and Don't ever stop Believing!!!

LOVE BAO JIEMEI!

naivasha.burrows@myldsmail.net

Chronicle of Vasha 26

Well Hello Hello Everyone!

This week has been great! Prepping for a Baptism, getting higher numbers, meeting and getting new Amazing investigators. Overall this week has been filled with seeing the fruits of our labors. And oh it does taste just so sweet!

QUOTE OF THE WEEK:

Ezra Taft Benson:

"The Lord works from the inside out. The world works from the outside in. The world would take people out of the slums. Christ takes the slums out of people, and then they take themselves out of the slums. The world would mold men by changing their environment. Christ changes men, who then change their environment. The world would shape human behavior, but Christ can change human nature.The Lord works from the inside out. The world works from the outside in. The world would take people out of the slums. Christ takes the slums out of people, and then they take themselves out of the slums. The world would mold men by changing their environment. Christ changes men, who then change their environment. The world would shape human behavior, but Christ can change human nature."

 

I love this sooo much! I don't even know what to say about it, except that it is 100% true! The world really does focus on the outside, and sometimes i forget what's important and do the same. But Jesus focuses on our souls, on our hearts, and on our minds. Not on our bodies, faces, smells, etc. He knows what's important and what's at the center of it all. If you want to help someone to change their situation, overcome their problems, and come unto Christ, we need to first help them overcome their own self will. Change their own hearts and minds. They need to have a desire to change and follow Christ. They need faith. Hope. Belief. and Trust. They they have the power to change. Change themselves, change their surroundings, change the world. 

 

Hey Tell tanner that i love him and hope he is doing amazing! He is such an amazing guy and great leader. He is going to do amazing on his mission and really become a great example to all those he comes into contact with. Something that i think makes a great missionary is one who is obedient, diligent, loves god, the work, his comp, and also one that has fun doing it all. Tanner is someone who will do all of those things wholeheartedly. Love that kid!!

 

I cannot believe that Landon is home from his mission. Tell him I love him!

 

 

Okay a little background on our investigator AC. she will be getting baptized this next week. She's so amazing and is down here in Gaoxiong going to Law School! She is studying to become a Prosecutor. So she's really smart. Which was a little detrimental to her investigating the church. She's seen many bad things and abuse and such, she had a hard time believe that God exists and lets that kind of thing happen. She's learned to rely on faith though and to just have hope and trust. She's definitely going to be a lasting convert, not one of those who goes LA after a few weeks like many people here we see. She's 21 and her family all lives in Taibei. Her mum died while she was in HS so that was another hard thing she was trying to understand. Her when people go to uni they don't have to do the general stuff first before they go to law school. They just go straight into their major and get really good at it. Seem like a better idea to me! hahahahahaha

FUNNY/AWKWARD/AWESOME/ADVENTURE MOMENTS OF THE WEEK:

***Li Jiamei  (sister) got baptized! She's not our investigator, but she is the other Sisters in our District's. She's so amazing! Sister Haupt taught her before they split the area and i came down to Xiaogang. It was a really good baptismal service and she's going to be an amazing addition to the Qianzhen ward!

***Everyday I remember funny little memories or things that have happened to me in my life. I'm so grateful to the Lord for helping me to have these happy moments that can lighten my day and my attitude!

***When we were at our bishops house, his little boy looked at me, had a piece of candy in his hand, and chucked it as hard as he could at my head. He's about 4 yrs old. Before the candy hit me though, I snagged it out of the air with incredible cat like reflexes....(I have no idea where they came from!) hahahaha after that he was super amazed (so was I!) and now everytime he sees me he chucks things at me to see if  I'll catch them!

Well that's all the time I have today, but I love you all and talk you to next week on: THE TAIWANESE EXPERIENCE. Hope on .Journey on. and don't every stop Believing!

PREVIEW: Next week on  THE TAIWANESE EXPERIENCE....drama, baptisms, and maybe a surprise mini zone conference. Stay tuned!

Love, Bao Jiemei!

naivasha.burrows@myldsmail.net

Chronicle of Vasha 25

DA JIA HAO!!! 

Well, Let me just start off by saying....the fire is burning in Xiao Gang!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Operation Baptism Inferno is now in effect and the sparks thereof have started a fire......because our investigator IS GETTING BAPTIZED NEXT WEEK!!!! yeah!!!! she's been investigating the church for almost a year now....and I've been so blessed to see the changes in here in just the last few weeks I've been here. It was mostly a problem with faith for her....but now she understands that she only needs believe and her faith will develop with action! She's so amazing and is finally going to enter at the gate of the strait and narrow path! SOOO PUMPED!!!

QUOTE OF THE WEEK:

ELDER JEFFREY R HOLLAND:

"...hold fast to what you already know and stand strong until additional knowledge comes. It was of this very incident, this specific miracle, that Jesus said, “If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.”⁶The size of your faith or the degree of your knowledge is not the issue—it is the integrity you demonstrate toward the faith you do have and the truth you already know."

Soooo Good! This is what we used to help Amber understand that to be baptized that she does not need perfect faith....She asked us if she only had half faith and half belief if God would still accept her baptism....don't worry we assured her he would! She's so amazing and I'm excited to help her continue to progress even after she makes this first covenant with God! :D 

AWKARD/FUNNY/AMAZING/RANDOM ADVENTURES OF THE WEEK:

***Wu DX: "Try it! It's seafood!"

       ME: "Okay!" *Grabbed one and popped it in my mouth and bite down hard*

       Wu DX: "Wait! Don't eat the teeth!"

       ME: "WHAT DID YOU GIVE ME?! WHAT DO YOU MEAN THE TEETH?!"

       Wu DX: "Squid Beak! don't eat the middle part....that's the teeth/beak."

It was actually quite delicious after I de-beaked it! Like a seafood tasting mushroom!

 

***Okay the first contact of the day, only 15 seconds left on the light before it turns green. I turn around to say hello to a lady on her scooter behind me and right after I say hello I DROOL A WATERFALL! wow.....so I was like great, I just ruined that contact. The light turned green so I start to ride slowly, awkwardly away on my bike.....BUT THEN....she rode up next to me and was like "Wait! Can I have your phone number? I want to meet with you sometime!" MORAL OF THE STORY: Drooling does not ruin the contact! Contact on!

 

***Interviews with President Blickenstaff and Sister Blickenstaff!!! They were sooo great! And they both interviewed us actually! They are really awesome, and I'm excited to work with and under them in such a great work as this! Great things are going to happen to the Taiwan Taizhong mission and I'm so grateful that I'll be here to witness it! :D

 

***Met with the Bishop of the ward this week! Apparently it's supposed to be hard to set up with him according to past missionaries? I didn't know this so last sunday when I saw him I just was like "Hey bishop! Can my companion and I come visit your family sometime this week?" and he was like "Yeah! How about tomorrow?" that easy! Then we had a meeting with him and told him a bit about what we've been doing, what our goals and plans are to accomplish them, and what we hope to do with the area/ward of Xiaogang. Then asked him what he would also like us to do. I think he was impressed and we will continue to work closely with the ward to further the work and accomplish our mission....OPERATION BAPTISM INFERNO....and STRENGTHEN AND BUILD XIAOGANG WARD!!!!!!!!

 

Mommy and daddy, it is awesome that the reunion was so fun.  Way to go to play with all the little kids:) Good job aunt Jackie and Nika for organizing it.  Thank you Uncle Ed and Aunt Kathy for the money. 

Sorry this email is so short, but know I love you all and the work is progressing! I hope you all have splendid, miracle-filled, and service oriented weeks. LOVE YOU! Hope on. Journey on. and "first and forever fan the flame of your faith, because all things are possible to them that believe." 

Chronicle of Vasha 24

July 7th email

Hey everyone!!!

Sorry i've been having email issues these past few weeks, so if you didn't get last weeks email, please let my mum know and she'll forward it to you! 

Said President Gordon B. Hinckley, “The happiness of the Latter-day Saints, the peace of the Latter-day Saints, the progress of the Latter-day Saints, the prosperity of the Latter-day Saints, and the eternal salvation and exaltation of this people lie in walking in obedience to the counsels of … God.”

This is sooo true! I know that everything....especially as missionaries....depends on our obedience. We cannot see the fruits of our labors, and receive blessings unless we are obedient. STRICTLY obedient. It is something that I've seen in my mission, and everyday i receive confirmations of this truth. Our happiness, peace, progress, prosperity, and eternal salvation all depend on it. I'd say that obedience is probably pretty dang important. Dui bu dui?! (Isn't it true)

I love this place soooo much! There is so much work cut out for us....but that's what makes it great! if we could white wash or go into an area that needs a lot of help...for my whole mission....I would be soooo happy! There is so much to learn from each place and each companion, and every place is so different, i get to use all my ideas and think of new one and then see the fruits of my labor....or at least the seeds! :D The ward here is pretty good, but the relations with the missionaries are again, not as good as we'd hoped. I'm excited to try some new ideas going and light the fire of the Xiaogang ward! My comp Sister Haupt is super excited as well, and we've already seen so many miracles together because of our obedience and hard work :D the Lord is really watching out for us! We are meeting with the bishop tonight to discuss the area and get to know him and his family because we don't really know him! I'm super excited and only pray that we can bike down and find his house in a timely manner :)

MIRACLES/AWESOMENESS/AWKWARDNESS OF THE WEEK:

***WE FOUND A NEW INVESTIGATOR! Her name is Lin Jiemei and she's 18 yrs old. We found her when we were doing an LA look up at her neighbors house, ran into her and she invited us in. Then we shang'd ke with her and taught her a whole first. I was able to bear testimony of many different aspects of the gospel, and we all felt the spirit. She told us she believes everything we've been telling her, including that Joseph Smith has seen God and Jesus. She is so prepared and I've never met anyone or taught anyone like her! She came to church yesterday and LOVED IT! she's even coming to english on Wednesday and bringing her little brothers. The only thing that might hold her back is if her parents say no.....they are very opposed to Christianity, but if she continues faithful, and we are obedience, i know the lord will bless us!

***69 cats seen!!!!

***Exchanges with the STLs....who also are our roommates! Wow I learned so much! I actually feel inadequate and like I've been slacking off as a missionary after being with Sis Taylor for 24 hours..;.....she contacts everything under the sun! people, pets, cars, bikes, scooters, houses, trees.....holy cow she's soooo renzhen! super intense.....I feel like I really need to nuli  (work harder) and get going in my missionary work.....

***Interviews with President Blickenstaff this week! Super excited to meet him and his wifey! 

LOVE YOU ALL AND SORRY THIS IS SO SHORT AND SPASTIC! I HOPE YOU ALL HAVE A MIRACLE FILLED WEEK AND LOOK FOR OPPORTUNITIES TO SERVE OTHERS! love you allllllll!!!!!! Hope On. Journey On. and Don't EVER stop Believing!!!! :D

LOVE Bao Jiemei!

naivasha.burrows@myldsmail.net