chronicle of Vasha 4

Nimen Hao!!! I hope everyone had spectacular weeks and is just enoying life in general!! :D

 

First off HAPPY LATE BIRTHDAY TO AUNTIE INGRID AND GRANDPA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sorry that is so late Auntie Ingrid! And Grandpa i hope you had a fun day!

 

Quote of the Week:

"There is a large difference between sharing information and offering salvation. :) Todd Christofferson

This is an amazing quote, and 100% correct! You can recite the first discussion as much as you want, but until you pay attention to the fact that you are teaching PEOPLE not lessons, YOU WILL NOT BE EFFECTIVE! We are to "INVITE others to come unto Christ by HELPING them receive the restored gospel..." and we cannot INVITE and HELP if we do not realize the worth of the souls we are helping or the worth of the glorious message we are sharing WITH them. We need to learn to listen to the promptings of the Spirit, listen to the people we are talking with, and listen to our companions! LISTEN LISTEN LISTEN! then share what you are inpired to share and USE THE SCRIPTURES! We are definitely not perfect teachers, at least i am not! but the scriptures are perfect! Nothing invites the Spirit quicker than reading scriptures, and singing hymns with people! But this is all just my own opinion, draw what you will, and ignore what you want, but i know this to be true!

 

Scripture of the Week (Stolen from Elder Sawyer Hendrickson and shared with me by my mum):

1 Cor 3: 6-7 it says, "I have planted, Apollo watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planted anything, neither he that watered; But God that giveth the increase."

REMEMBER WHERE THE BLESSINGS COME FROM!!! This is super important to me this week because it is something that our investigators have been struggling with. They can tell that they are much more blessed since they've started living their lives in accordance to the will of the Lord, but they still think that it's because of themselves, not that it is from God. EVERYTHING that we have though, has been given to us from our Heavenly Father! Trying to look for the blessing in my life is something that i've been trying to focus on more, and for the last week, i've been writing 5 new things each night in my journal that i am grateful for. It makes me realize just how amazing my days are, how much the Lord's hand is in my life, and how blessed i really am! I suggest that if any are having an struggles with feeling down, discouraged, or being prideful, think of your blessings! What tender mercies from the Lord have you seen in your life TODAY?!

 

QUESTIONS from MUM:

 

You said there is a foursome in your apartment. Do you interact with the other two sisters and where are they from? Do you work the same areas? We have a four man flat, but the two other sisters work in Tanzi, the neighboring area. We see them everyday and night, and they are in our district, but we do not cover the same area (and/or ward). One, Sister Gerraud-Carrier is from France, byway of Springville Utah. The other, Sister Newman is from Bountiful, Utah, byway of China! She grew up in China, her family lives there still, but she attended BYU and lived in Utah before her mission. (Yes she is white).

What do you do besides clean your apartment and do laundry on your P Day. Do you do grocery or do you eat out most of the time, since it is cheaper to eat out. Do you have Chinese breakfast and if so what are Chinese breakfast? What do lunch and dinner consisted of when you to people's home to eat? On P-day we also do our grocery shopping, any other shopping we desire, take naps, write letters (since we cannot write letters any other day of the week), do our regular studies (Personal, Companionship, and Language), and plan for our Wednesday Night English Class. P-day ends at 6:00pm so we usually then go teaching or proselyting until we return back to the flat at 9:00pm. Since we had the Mission Tour on monday this week though, our P-Day is today (or Wednesday) so we will have English class tonight instead of lessons with investigators or RCLAs. We almost always eat breakfast inside, and lots of times lunch too. Since i'm still training, we have extra study time inside, so we usually eat inside and then go out and teach/proselyte. Chinese breakfast here is You Tiao (Deep fried Chinese scones) with Soymilk, or dumplings, rou bao, etc. We usually eat eggs, cereal, or fruit though! We we eat at peoples homes it consists of TONS of food! Rice, Noodles, Lots of different kinds of meat (Pig leg, Pig knuckles, beef, Pig /or Beef intestines, Chicken, whole Fish), and ALWAYS soup! (with turnips, fish/beef balls, duck/pork blood, tofu, sometimes potatoes, and cabbage in it!). They like to tell you that you are fat and need to loose weight, and then shove more and more food at you! Hahahhahaha you have to LOVE them!! So great! and Yes Mum I eat EVERYTHING they give me! and don't say "Yuck!" I'm very well mannered! and never burp or fart either! You can tell them you don't want to eat rice though, and I've found that very effective. More room for meat and veggies! without as much carbs! :) I gained 4 POUNDS last week over new years since we were fed so much! But in the last 2 days I lost it....so don't worry! hahahahahaha We went from meal appointmen to meal appointment and I thought I was going to DIE!!!! but I handled it like a champ....or a man....whichever...hahahaha

 

You park your bike downstairs and leave your helmet with it, do you worry about theft, is the lock sufficient, or there is not a problem in your area. We have boxes on the back of our bikes, so we just put our helmets inside there. The lock is sufficient, and lot of people don't even have locks! Some people have had problems with their bikes being stolen, but I haven't heard of any problems in my area. Most missionaries paint their bikes when they get them, but even those who haven't painted theirs yet, haven't had problems.

 

You mentioned two Sister Chen and their kids, do they have husbands, and if so are they members? Both Chen Jie Mei's are married, but their husbands are not members. Chen Jie Mei #1 is having some problems because her husband does not live the Law of Chastity and drinks a lot as well. We are praying for her to help her make good decisions, because she has told him multiple times that if he doesn't change, she wants a divorce, but he doesn't want one and tells her he will change, which he does for a little bit before he goes back to his old ways. They have been married for 15+ years and she is his 2nd wife. Chen Jie Mei #2 has one son and a husband, both are not members. She really wants her sons to join the church (he's 14) but her husband does not support it, so we will not teach him. If there is any protesting from spouse or parents, we respect it and don't teach. Although this gospel message is incredibly important, we also know that families are incredible important and we do not want to cause contention in the family. When they are prepared, they will accept the gospel and the amazing blessings that come with it!

 

Chinese New Year is celebrated for 15 days, will you and your comp be invited to a lot more dinners, so the other two sisters get the same invitations? and do all four of you cover the same ward or branch on Sundays? Since the other 2 sisters are not in our area, they do not eat with us, but they do get ching-ed by their members and investigators in their ward! The two elders who serve in our area usually got invited to eat with us at the members houses though. We only cover one ward with our 2 elders, and the Tanzi sisters cover their ward with their 2 elders. Some missionary companionships have more than one ward/branch, but we each just have one.

If anyone else has any questions, feel free to let my mum know, and i'll answer them! :)

Mission Tour on Monday was AMAZING!!! It ended up being the WHOLE MISSION instead of just the north half and then south half at a time! So i got to see all my MTC friends like Dong Jie Mei and Elder Gish!!! I was so happy to see them all :D It was an amazing meeting, and we learned a lot! Elder Watson and Elder Evans both spoke to us, along with President Bishop and all of their wives. We also took a picture as a whole mission with them!!! That was interesting! We found out that with the increase from all the new missionaries, by August we will have gone from 180-ish missionaries, we will have about 220-ish! So about a 40% increase or so? I'm not sure how solid those numbers are! hahahah but It's amazing and each week president Bishop finds out more and more missionaries are coming!!! We're so excited to what this all means to missionary work for the whole world! It is incredible how much the youth of the church have responded so gallantly and how amazing and worthy they all are! We have been told that we have so many amazing missionaries coming in, so we out in the field really need to step it up and be better than we are!!!!

 

FUNNY/AWKWARD MOMENTS:

***That awkward moment when you are eating everything on the table except for the pig intestines but then the Amah (grandma) keeps putting food into your bowl and telling you to EAT EAT EAT! and she puts tons and tons of intestines in your bowl....so you grin, chew, swollow, and EAT MORE!!! Woot woot!! They really aren't that bad! :)

***That awkward moment when at mission tour you see a kid from back home and say "Hi Elder Gummow!" and he goes...."Wait....what?!>.....YOU are here??!....wait why?!....oh this is just too weird!" hahahaha what is with people from back home being so surprised to see me on a mission....and in their mission no less?! hahahahaha

***That funny moment when EVERYONE you meet asks you if you can teach their children english because they can see you are from America....but you use it as a proselyting moment and advertise your FREE english class!!! (PS while we're on this, go to our FB page and like us!!! at englishclass.tw)

***That awkward moment when I just barely advertised our English Class HERE ON MY BLOG!!

***That awkward moment when your on the bus up the mountain to go to a dinner appointment and you're with the elders...one of whom is 100% white and this group of kids starts talking about you and him in Chinese behind you....but he has fantastic Chinese and Taiwanese and starts talking to them and giving them english class tracts.....they were absolutely amazed!!!

 

BIG NEWS OF THE WEEK!!!!:

We a baptism set for Saturday!!! Which is also my companions 1 yr anniv on island and my 1 month anniv on island. We are praying that Vicky (17) goes through with it, but she has had 3 bapt goals already (one with each comp that sis xiong has had), but I KNOW THAT SHE WILL BE BAPTIZED!!! I know this one is real! IT's gonna happen! I HAVE FAITH! WO YOU XINXIN! (I have faith):)

But I'll let you all know next monday what happens! :)

 

Well the days are long, but the work is good. Real good. And there is nothing that has brought me joy such as this. These people are our brothers and sisters and I have the honor of telling them exactly who they, and we, all are. CHILDREN OF OUR HEAVENLY FATHER! That's kind of a big deal! We're all kind of a big deal! although at the same time we are "nothing." Like Elder Uchtdorf said, "That is one great paradox of man. Compared to God we are nothing, but to him we mean EVERYTHING." We all come from a royal, eternal line. Unfortunately so many people don't know that, but we have the honour and priviledge to share with them where they come from, what they are doing here, and what they have the potential to become. It is only through our elder brother and Saviour Jesus Christ that we are able to do this. Him and through His Atonement. What an amazing truth to know!! LETS ALL SHARE IT WITH THE WORLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Remember that the Lord is watching over us and helping us!! "For with God nothing shall be impossible."!!!!!

 

I LOVE YOU ALL and hope you all have just fantastic, joy and missionary opportunity filled days this week! GOD LOVES YOU ALL!!!

 

Love, Bao Jie Mei

-- 

chronicle of Vasha 3

Gong xi fa cai!!! Xin nian kuai le!!! Happy New Year!!

Well it's the week of the New Year here and let me just tell you.....it's a HUGE DEAL!!!!

They close down many businesses for the whole week, so they can go out and celebrate. It's super Kua Zhong (over the top). There will randomly be fire cracker and fireworks through out the night AND DAY! and We get Ching-ed (Treated) out for like EVERY meals! with tons and tons of food! We have every lunch and dinner this week scheduled out with various investigators and members starting last friday! AND....sometimes we have people call us at the last minute, and when they are a RC, LA, or investigator, you cannot say no! So last Saturday we had lunch, early dinner, and dinner.....with tons of delicious food at each house! And they make you eat more and more and more! and you feel like you are going to DIE!!! It's very funny because they'll be explaining a food to me and then i'll be like! "Oh!! Sticky Rice! or Monk Soup!!!" and they'll be shocked that I've had it before! hahahahaha i've yet to eat anything here, that i haven't eaten before....and I've eaten some pretty gui gui (strange) food here...which makes me think that my food history has been very varied even before the mission!

Scripture of the Week:
Alma 26:26-27 (starting with the last half of 26)

"...with the intent that perhaps we might save some few of their souls. Now when our hearts were depressed, and we were about to turn back, behold, the LORD comforted us, and said: Go amonst thy brethren, the Lamanites, and bear with patience tine afflictions, and I will give unto success."

I was having a little bit of a sad moment this week, because my trainer was a little bit discouraged because our numbers aren't as high as she was used to, and we have interviews with President Bishop tomorrow. She was worried that he would be disappointed in the decline, but I tried to explain that because she's training, we aren't outside as much, and the President Bishop knew that when he made her into a trainer. She was also very scared to train me, because she's never trained before; but she's doing an amazing job!!! She was scared that I would be scared and uncomfortable talking to people, but I helped her to understand that I wasn't scared or uncomfortable at all!!! I love talking to people, and when I mess up, I just laugh and so do they. They do not judge my language skills because I am definitely an American, and they can see that!  I was reading through my notes that people gave me when we left the MTC and Elder Hagedorn had written that scripture down, but he said that he didn't know why but he felt like he should. I hadn't read it yet, but I decided to look it up. I was then able to show it to my trainer and remind her that we are saving souls, and that when we are patient, the Lord will give us success. I know that Elder Hagedorn was inspired to give me that scripture, and that I was inspired to look it up just when I did. It's been incredible to see how much the Lord has already helped me so much on my mission, though short the time has been. I also decided to find a scipture to share with my companion everyday, and it's been interesting how sometimes it's also one that i need for myself as well!

My Companion has been out for almost a year! I'm going to be her last companion, then she is going home May 13th.Tell the ward I say HELLO and the YM as well :)

Quote of the Week:

"God doesn't care nearly as much about where you have been asHe does about where you are and, with HIS help, where you are willing to go."

We need to be clay that the Lord can mold into whatever he needs us to be. We must keep an open heart and mind, and listen to the promptings of the Spirit. Only then can we truly be what we need to. We need to remember that there are souls He has prepared for us to meet and help, but in order to help them, we ourselves need to be prepared for them!!!!

I still have the WEIRDEST dreams every night! Some are in English, and some are in Chinese. Sooo weird, but always entertaining to the other missionaries hahahahaha.

I also feel as though I speak more English here and less Chinese than I did in the MTC! but maybe that's because I'm more used to the language than before, but also a surprising amount of people here speak English, if only a little, that it's enough that we can use Chinglish with each other.

Random moment: Yesterday when we went to our Correlation Meeting with our Ward Mission Leader, he gave me a note when I came in from some missionaries that he took out to eat while up in Xin Zhun (taipei mission) visiting his parents. And thouse missionaries were Sister Latimer and Elder Cheung who were in my Zone in the MTC!!!! and they both wrote me a quick little note! But it was super random and awesome that they are in the same area and that they met Huang DiXiong! I guess not as random being in the same area as someone you know up in taipei since we had 20 missionaries go to taipei together from our zone/generation in the MTC.

Okay....Mum had some questions, but I figured I would answer them on my big email, so that you can all know what it's like here!!!

What is the weather like where you are at? Megan Starley was there in your area for six months. She did the Dan Jones thingy too. I guess it is a Taiwan thingy. The weather here is cool, I wear my cardigans everyday, and it gets pretty windy, so I wear my leggings everyday as well for warmth and for when my skirts fly up! hahahaha I will be in my area for my 3 months of training, and then at least another 6 weeks (one "move call" aka transfer) so that i can show my new companion the area. Sister usually get to go to about 3 areas for about 4 1/2-6 months at a time. Dan Jones is definitely a Taizhong thing. They've been doing it for years. 20 years ago, they used to set the missionaries free their first night in the nightmarket with a list of 20ish or so things to buy (writting in English) and they had to figure out how to say it, buy it all, and then get a taxi and return to the mission home on their own! The list also contained super random/weird things like pacifiers and other things! hahaha.

 Does it get a lot of rain? Are you wet all the time? It hasn't yet rained since i've been here. At least not when we've been out riding our bikes. We've gotten a few showers while inside, so i come out to a wet helmet and seat, but nothing major. It won't really rain a lot until the summer months/monsoon season.
 Do you go tracting - knocking on doors? What time do you and comp go in and not ride your bike. What do you do for P day today? I am so glad you have a great trainer and you get along with her. Yes we go tracting!! Not a whole lot though, because it's not really as effective in our area. We do go contacting A LOT. in parks, in the mall district, at the hospital, etc. And whenever we are traveling from appointment to appointment, we contact at all traffic lights, etc. We go in at 9 pm and we leave at either 10:30 am or 12:30 pm, depending on if we do our language study indoors, or eat indoors as well. Since i'm training, we get an extra hour of companion study, and an extra hour of language study each day. Other wise normally we'd leave at 10:30 am every morning. For P day we do all of our grocery shopping, emailing (we get 2 hours for email here!), any other shopping we need, write letters, clean the whole apartment (every pday morning), and nap ;)! Today since it is Chinese New Year, we had lunch with one of our members, Mark, for his birthday! and we ate Pizza Hut! Which was delicious and better than the Pizza Hut in the US!!! We get "ching"ed (invited)  out for lunch and dinner everyday this week! Blahhhh! I'm going to die by the week's end from Gluttony!
 Are you teaching any investigators or mostly English classes. Did those twenty something young men come to your English class? I might have to send you some elastic for your hair, I am pretty sure they do not have thick one ine Taiwan. Maybe they do, since they are made in China. Let me know. I just got some. We teach investigators, RCs, and LAs everyday! We only have English class on Wednesday Night for 1 1/2 hours! Two of the young men did come to our class! hahahaha I have plenty of hair elastics, Sister Gish (Elder Gish's mum) sent me some for part of her Christmas package to me! And Taiwan has beyond a lot of hair accessories!!! They LOVE wearing hair accessories! Bows, scrunchies, ribbons, etc! Anything you could want for your hair, they Have It!

 How many sisters and elders are in your district and how many in your zone? How many sisters and elders in your areas. What is your apartment like? Is it in the city? Do you have a washer and dryer? If you need more bounce, let me know. We have 4 sisters and 4 elders in our district, and 6 sisters and 8 elders in our zone i believe? In our area, we just have one companionship of sisters, and one companionship of elders. Our elders are Elder Long and Elder Xiong. Our apartment is really big, because we have 4 sisters living in it. I think that we're the only sister missionaries that have a 4 man flat in our whole mission! We have a washer and dryer as well! and we have plenty of bounce sheets for now thank you! We have our room, which also has our desks in it, and a separate room for dressing and all of our clothes. The other sisters have their room (with wardrobes) and their study room. Plus we have a front room (which we do not use) and a kitchen and breakfast nook! Very big, and a pain to clean the whole thing, but we still do each monday morning! :)  

AWKWARD/FUNNY MOMENTS:

***That awkward moment when you are walking away from the elders trying to help someone move, and the wind is going CRAZY and blows your skirt up, you catch it but then one of the elders says: "I think Bao Jie Mei's skirts too short, i just saw her garments" but you skirt is actually down to your SHINS!!! hahahaha dang wind! So we wear tights and leggings everywhere to keep warm and "preserve our modesty" hahahahaha (it's surprisingly cold here, though nothing like Utah winters, it's also super humid so it goes straight through you! BRRRRRRR!)

***That awkward moment when you're sitting in sacrament and some nice Chinese lady comes up to you with a packet of paper and says in broken english "This my son biography....you please read and change ma?" hahahaha Then you realize he wrote his resume/autobiography in English for applying to a Sweet school in the Czech Republic and all this pressure is now on you to make sure that it's all spelled right/grammatically correct so that you can help him get his scholarship! (PS He is also a musical genius who has composed music for multiple orchestras here in Taizhong and up in Taibei! and his english is super good....only a few grammar corrections:))

***That awkward moment when your new investigator shows up late for church and a member comes and grabs you, not your companion to go talk to her and help her....and she doesn't understand your accent, and you do not understand hers! After about 15 minutes you finally realize she's saying sorry for being late!

***That awkward moment when the members see your picture and tell you they're glad that you've gotten whiter during your MTC stay, and that you've gotten skinnier too, because you were much too fat before, and still a little bit too fat....all the while trying to shove food down your throat! (PS I'VE LOST 10 LBS SINCE I'VE GOT HERE!!! 

***That awkward moment when your companion's month goal is to lose 5 lbs, and you did it in the first week of the month.....

Well even though there have been some major ups and downs this week. Everyone is well and happy! We even found out who our new mission president is going to be!!! 

. President and Sister Bishop are amazing, but the new ones will be as well, but there will be lots and lots of changes. It will be good though!!!

The gospel is true, the work is good! and the LORD WILL ALWAYS HELP US!!!!!

Psalms 29:11 "The LORD will give strength unto his people, the LORD will bless his people with peace."

We just need to trust in him, and He will provide a way for us!!!!

Sister Burrows first zone in Fengyuan, Taiwan

chronicle of Vasha #2

 I LIVE IN TAIWAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What the....I live in Taiwan?!?

Halllo! Nimen de jintian guode zenme yang?!?!  How is everyone doing today? RC = recent convert, LA = less active

Thank you for all the support and love! If you've written me and I haven't written back yet, please be patient! I WILL WRITE BACK!!!...eventually! hahaha :) i only have a little bit of time each week for letters and i must be 100% Obedient!

QUOTE OF THE WEEK: "When what you know in your head moves to your heart by the Power of the Holy Ghost....That is understanding." -Elder Bednar

I really like this quote, especially for this week because we are struggling with helping our investigators to really understand. They all know that it is true, they know the stories in the Book of Mormon really well. They all believe in God, but they just don't seem to understand why it's important and why it's necessary for them to be baptized. We are praying and fasting for them really hard and hope that as they continue to pray and read and attend church (CPR) then they will receive that answer and confirmation that they are looking for. And then they will have true understanding.

Okay....let's see what has happened in this last week since Wednesday and I emailed last.....

Last Wednesday night was English Class, WHICH WAS SOOO MUCH FUN!! :) We had conversations with them to practice their Yingwen (english) and answer any questions they had. They had some really funny questions like "What do people mean when they say that was 'so out there?'" or "What does carried away mean?" We also chose a theme (San Fransico Giants!) and then discussed it, and it turned into a discussion about San Fransico just in general and then we told them about the weather and different things like that. They also wanted to know what kids in America do for fun, What do they Study, What do they wear, What do they....., etc. It was really fun! They ask me more questions because I am so fresh from America I think and because I am more Amerian looking. We told them that in America kids move out of the house when they are 18 and leaving for school and they were just SHOCKED!!! Here people have three or four generations living in one house, and they usually don't move out until they are married....and then they usually move into the guy's house with his parents hahahahahaha.

I still have weird and funny dreams, just like in the MTC! They are always in Chinese and usually with people I'm friends with back home, or the missionaries from the MTC. They're always super random and filled with adventures in the Jungle or Mountains or such. My companion is very entertained when I tell her what my dreams are about, and she usually asks once a day "did you have any fun dreams last night?!" hahahahaha

Hmmmmm....Well I am tired absolutely all the time! They say that you are never not tired on your mission, but I really hope that it isn't THIS tired all the time, because if so, I might just die. hahahaha My companion is really diligent though about going to bed on time and waking up on time, so I get a full 8 hours of sleep every night!! oh and I absolutely LOVE MY BIKE!!! I decided that by the end of my mission I'm going to be sad to see it go and become an avid cyclist when I get home, or I'm going to grow to hate it and never get on a bike again....I think that it'll be the first one! I was excited when i got my call that I'm in a biking mission, and I still am excited! It's tiring much of the time, but being able to bike, exercise, and move is AMAZING! especially after the MTC of sitting inside all day everyday!

Okay last Thursday we woke up, ran, studied, had an awesome Weekly Planning session, then had fun planning for our Yingwen Ban (english class). We are going to play Jeopardy this week!! We thought up some good topics and vocab words, and then had to figure out how to describe them so that our students could answer and understand since it's all in English and we want them to be able to learn at the same time. Then we taught Chen Jie Mei #1 (one of our RCs) at her little school and her daughter Stephanie (age 7) was there. Stephanie already says that she's going to go on a mission when she grows up! She's super cute hahaha. I participated way more in this lesson which is awesome, then she fed us curry which reminded me of mum :D and we then played a little "monkey-in-the-middle"/dodgeball with Stephanie. Chen Jie Mei #1 asked me if I would teach Stephanie English, so I told her to bring her to Yingwen Ban since we have a kiddie class! We also taught ChenJie Mei #2 (RC) at the church. Her 12 yr old son has been in the Hospital for the last 3 weeks or so because he got into a really bad scooter accident and wasnt wearing his helmet. So he has some major road rash across his face, and arms and legs, and a broken arm. We taught her the Plan of Salvation, it was great and both Chen Jie Mei's want to prepare to go to the temple!!!

OHH!! and President and Sister Bishop also showed up at our English Meeting (right before Yingwen Ban) to check up on me! When i first saw them, and Sis Bishop asked if she could talk with me i was just like "Oh no.....what have I already done wrong?!" hahahaha but then she just gave me a hug, asked how i was doing, and told me if i needed anything to let her know! It was sweet of them to come all the way up to Feng Yuan (45 minute-ish drive) just to say "Hi" for a minute. I did great on Wednesday and could definitely feel McKay's love for me and his help. I just hoped that my family back home was doing all right with the anniversary of his death.

It's a special opportunity that i have to share the story of my family and my older brother McKay with our LAs, RCs, and Investigators because i am then able to testify to them of the amazing power of the Atonement, Plan of Salvation, and Doctrine of Christ. My testimony is still very simple, but it is true and strong, and I know without a doubt in my mind that McKay is ALWAYS with me and I WILL see him again. I HAVE A FOREVER FAMILY because of the blessings of the temples :) <3

On Friday we woke up at 6:00 to get ready so that we could travel to the Mission Home for a English Training. They are updating and improving the curriculum that we are teaching, so we needed to be trained on that, and we will have more training in the weeks and maybe months to follow i am sure. That was fun and i was able to see people from Alpine (Ryan Allen, Taylor Reynolds) and see the Assistants and Operations Director again! (All elders in my mission). Then on Saturday we had to wake up at 5:30 to get ready so that we could go with Chen Jie Mei #1 and Stephanie up into the mountains for breakfast for the New Year!! We NEVER leave the house early without permission from the DLs, ZLs, APs, or President. But since i'm brand new, and Chen Jie Mei was going to China for the New Year, he gave us SPECIAL PERMISSION to go with her! It was spectacular! up in the mountains and i tooks some awesome pictures which i'll send home next week :D They are aweomse people and such a great addition to the church.

SMALL MIRACLES OF THE WEEK:

#1. On Friday night, one of our appointments with an investigator fell through (and our backup plan to visit Zhang Jie Mei fell through too), and we were trying to decide whether to go visit a LA or RC or go contacting, when Xiong Jie Mei ( my companion) decided that we should visit a LA named Lin Jie Mei. We went over to her house, and it turns out she was having a rough day and really needed just a little bit of love from someone. She needed us that night, and because my Companion is amazing, we were able to be guided to go to her house and visit with her and share a short message. The Lord really watches over His sheep!!

#2. When we were gettin ready to leave the church on Saturday afternoon to go up and visit Vicky (1hr bus ride away) we came out of the church and saw Peggy who is one of Xiong Jie Mei's RCs from her old area. She was able to come with us and Peike (member accompanied visit) while we visited Vicky. She was able to share her conversion story and the sacrifices that she made, which helped to address some of Vicky's concerns about joining the Church. Peggy was home from University for the winter break and she rode her scooter 3 hours to where we were, and waited outside of the church for an hour hoping that she would be able to see Xiong Jie Mei and say "Hi" her patience and love was a tender mercy from the Lord.

SCRIPTURE OF THE WEEK (from my Personal Study):

Matthew 10:39

"He that findeht his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it."

Have i lost my life for my Saviour yet? Or am i holding onto the life that i think i want instead of the life that He would like to give and bless me with?

AWKWARD MOMENTS/FUNNY STORIES:

 ***That awkward moment when you think that you are teaching the Advanced Class for Yingwen Ban and you are talking and explaining about Alliteration and Onoematopeas (sp?) and then you find out that it was just the Intermediate Class....But your students are so awesome that they just soaked it all in!!!

 ***That awkward moment when you are at the night market with your kids and you keep losing your children without even noticing, and the sister missionaries keep finding them as they are doing their English Proselyting have to keep bringing them back to you....

 ***That awkward moment when you show up at English Training at the Mission Home and you see an Elder from back home and say hi and his responds is: "What the.....wait....what are you doing here?!?!" and you just say "Yeah....I'm on a Mission!!! 

 *** That awkward moment when everyday you manage to find some little old person who doesnt even speak Chinese but speaks Taiwanese and you try to contact them in your broken Chinese....and you don't even know that they arent speaking Chinese!!!

 ***That awkward moment when you are trying to share a story about your brother McKay and the women are all mostly disappointed that he passed away because they think that he is very Shuai...or good looking....

 ***That awkward moment when people can tell you are 100% american and they (kids especially) like to yell what little broken English they know as you ride your bike past them in the street....and you smile and yell "Hello!" back to them! Your day is made and so is theirs!

Well, the church is true, the work is great, and the days are long, but God will help us all! HE WATCHES OVER HIS SHEEP! :)

Next week I promise to have more adventures ready to relay, and pictures to share!! :) HAVE A GREAT, FANTASTIC, SPIRIT FILLED, MIRACLES WITNESSED, EXCITING, HEN HAO WEEK!!!!!!!!!!!
--

Peace be with you, keep the faith, and Godspeed. 

Sister Naivasha Hani Burrows

sister Burrows and sister Xiong

at the Taipei temple

 

Taiwan Taichung Mission

chronicle of Naivasha -taiwan - #1

Subject: Chronicle of Vasha

 

Nimen Hao! Zenme Yang!!?

 

Wow, so this has been such an adventure!! First I need to catch everyone up on my last couple of days at the MTC and then my trip across the pond, arrival, and now living in TAIWAN! wooot wooot!

 

Okay so the last few days at the MTC were AMAZING! I had so much fun with my district and teachers. We had lots of nice spiritual experiences, and last minute preparations that were just great! My teachers Brothers Liu, Workman, Visser, Nightingale, and Sister Hsiao were amazing at preparing us spiritually and mentally for this great work, and for that i thank them with all my heart! They also helped us to pick a goal to work on for our missions, and also to think about how we want to be able look back on our missions and feel. I decided for one of my many goals to:

Pick and attribute from every companion that Iwill strive to strengthen. I will then be able to strengthen my weaknesses and grow a love for my companionship while strengthening my relationship with them.

I am very excited about this goal and am sure that as Iwork on it, I'll also be able to work on my Charity, Humility, and Patience.

 

Quote of the Week: "If you will respond to the invitation to share your beliefs and feelings about the restored gospel of Jesus Chirst, a spirit of love, and a spirit of courage will be your constant companion." -Elder L. Tom Perry

 

So the trip to Taiwan went really well! We had a few of our missionaries sit by nonmembers and were able to share the gospel with them and place a few copies of the Book of Mormon and some Mormon.org cards. Which was AWESOME! Our flight from SLC to Seattle was late, so we got off the plane and straight onto the next! Then it was off to TAIWAN!!! It was a really long flight, and i did not really sleep, i was able to work on one of the elders puzzle books doing word searches and crossword puzzles for a few hours, talk to a few different people and for teh last few hours talk gospel with one of the elders which was great and spiritually uplifting :D Then we got off in Tokyo for about an 45 min layover. While there a man came up to us and wanted to know where we were going, etc because he had served his mission in Taipei....after about 10 minutes he asked where we all were from and it turns out that he's the father of someone i went to High School with! (Mitch Vance) So that was awesome!!! The missionaries continue to tease me becaue where ever we go, i always find someone that i happen to know....no matter where in the world we are! hahahahaha

Then we flew from Tokyo --> Taipei!! While on that flight, Elder Gish and i were able to meet a lady named Guo Xiao Jie. She was AWESOME! She wanted to know why E. Gish was an elder when he was so young! and so we explained what missions were and shared a little bit about the gospel with her. We were able to learn a little about what she believed and she gave us some awesome tips on how to help other become interested in the Church even though she herself was not interested. We didn't push the subject, but know that we were able to plant the seed, especially because she said that she sees the missionaries all the time, and sometimes says hi to them. If her desire and preparedness grows, she definitely knows where to find us! She also was so sweet and wanted to make sure we had someone waiting for us at the airport to pick us up and take us to Taizhong. Real nice lady that i hope someday joins the church :D Oh and this conversations all took place in CHINESE!!! Boo yah! E. Gish and I make an awesome team hahahahahahahaha.

 

Then we got to Taipei.....And it began.....

So we got off of the plane and went to get our passports and visas checked. While we waited in line, a lady was ushering us into different lines to control the flow. She sees E. Gish and Green and goes..."Please wait a minute....please wait a minute...." Then when i get to the front of the line she looks at me and goes..."Ple....oh! Dong yi xia! Dong yi xia! )"(please wait a minute)....i was just like Oh No! It's begun! then i got to the desk where we get our passports checked and the lady is blabbering away at me in Chinese...all the while i can hear the other people talking to our white missionaries in english....and i just kept smiling, nodding my head, and saying "Dui!"....all the while hoping i wasn't agreeing to join the military or something! hahahaha then we were able to go get our luggage at the baggage claim!

Then we met up with President and Sister Bishop, and the Assistants and took a picture which i'm sure that you've already seen! Then we go to catch the bus....which happens to be the chartered bus...which is a PARTY BUS. It has curtains and neon lights and we spoke in a microphone and was soooo WEIRD....but awesome! then we had a 2 1/2 hour orientation while we drove down to Taizhong where we learned about the mission and introduced ourselves, etc. Then...finally we got to the mission home where the sisters were staying (the elders stayed with the Zone Leaders in the area) and were able to go to bed :D It was the best sleep that i'd had in weeks! A whole 5 hours straight :D

The next morning we woke up to go running at 6:30am and we ran over to a track, and then the Assistants had us set goals and try to make them (whether it was timing, or the amount of laps, etc) before 7:00am. I almost didn't make my goal because i was so tired, and my knee kinda hurt, but i was way to embarrassed to tell them that i didn't make my goal, and could not even imagine telling them my goal was less that it really was, so i pushed through and did it!!! woot woot! then we went home, showered, got ready, and went down to a delicious Taiwanese breakfast! Yumm Yumm! then we had more training and interviews with President Bishop. We also had Hotpot for lunch which was super good! and then more training in the afternoon with the Assistants. They taught us a lot about contacting, because we do that every single day while here. We practiced on the Assistants and one said that it was good that I was super friendly and genuine. One of the others was a Bendiren (local) and was sooo funny, he said that he was trying to act like a super shy person in our role play, but that he couldn't look away and break my eye-contact because I just draw him in....hahhaha funny, a little awkward, but good because i can use that to my advantage! I also had an awesome interview with Pres Bishop and he said that Iremind him of all of my "friends here in the mission" which is a good thing i suppose because they are all district and zone leaders! hahaha oh yeah! I know a TON of people here! well....mostly Elders...but still a ton!!! Elder Ryan Allen from Alpine is even in my Zone! And my friend Elder Nathan Erickson is Elder Gish's trainer which is super Hen Bang!!! :D After practicing contacting, we all walked to dinner and practicing contacting and getting peoples information the way to dinner which was super fun! and we got 3 different peoples' information! We then had a yummy traditional chinese dinner and then it was DAN JONES NIGHT!!!

Woot woot!! Dan Jones Night is a night where we go to the night market, stand up on a box, and preach our testimonies about the Book of Mormon and then go contacting with random missionaries! :D IT WAS SOOO FUN! I went first after the Assistants and Pres and Sis Bishop, and i just yelled my testimony in chinese all the while thrusting my BOM into the air :D I felt pretty legit hahahah almost like Dan Jones must have felt!....except not in English....then we went contacting and i was assigned to go with Sisters Cord and Wang.....who it turns out are in my Zone! Then we went back home, had a closing meeting to discuss Dan Jones and then off to bed!

The next morning was personal study/breakfast/more training and then getting our TRAINERS!!! My trainer's name is Maizoua Xiong. She grew up in Californina, but she was born in Thailand and her parents are from Laos. She is also 100% Hmong and is super Lihi! (fierce). Then we went to some random Hawaiian burger place which was really good! and then off to our Areas! I'm in Feng Yuan which is the northern most area in our whole mission. We have to be careful not to cross into the Taipei Mission sometimes.

The second day with my comp we got to go on an awesome 1 1/2 bike ride up a mountain to visit one of our less actives for 30 minutes hahahahhaa but the ride down was fun! I was convinced that i was gonna be sore after riding my bike all day everyday but.....I'm not at all!!! Woot Woot! i'm in better shape than i thought! hahahahah JK ;) but my butt was a little bit sore...but that's to be expected! The rest of our days have been filled with lessons, tracting, contacting, and riding our bikes. I've also had some pretty incredible food here that it wonderful. I've eaten some interesting things, but nothing bad at all!

Church was fantastic and I was invited to bear my testimony in sacrament meeting which went good....except for triping on the way down...but what's new hahahahaha. I actually fell asleep in RS for a teeny bit because i had no idea what was going on...and i was soooo tired! We also went to a recent convert's (RC) house for dinner and then FHE. Chen Jie Mei made us some delicious food, and then we taught them how FHE goes as a family, with a lesson, and then some games, etc. It was really fun! Our elders also came (Long and Xiong Zhanglao) and they are super awesome!

We also had English Proselyting which was really fun and we did at a night market on Saturday. This is were we hand our Flyers for our Ingwen Ban (English Class) and i'm aloud to speak english "Hi! Come to our FREE English Class!" basically how it goes hahahahaha. We have a couple of member girls how come with us sometimes and are super cute!

 

AWKWARD MOMENTS:

***That awkward moment when a Bendiren old man comes up to you in front of your companion and says "So Beautiful!" in English and then walks away....

***That awkward moment when you keep making awkward eyecontact with one of the Assistants during training, and then later during dinner drop a fish eye down his back...then retrieve it...while your mission president is watching and laughing....and then you hurry and pop it into your mouth and eat it to make the point you were trying to the whole time....

***That awkward moment when (after 1 1/2 hour bike ride up a mountain) a man in a tiny little pick up truck with his children in the front seat next to him, sees you and yells "HELLO!" and sticks his hand out the window for a High 5....which you awkwardly shake his hand and sorta bow...all the while straddling your bike...and then he ignores your companion and drives away because she looks 100% chinese....

***That awkward moment when you accidentally "Flirt to Convert" and now like eleven 20ish yr old Bendiren guys have promised to come to your English class while you were English Proselyting...and your'e still now really sure how it happened....

***That awkward moment when about 90% of your Investigators/RCLAs have mental illnesses...mainly bipolar, schizophrenia, and depression...with a few eating disorders thrown in here and there.....and you have one who thinks that she's being attacked by a wire, and she won't come to church because that's is where the attacks are the worst....

***That awkward moment when your investigator tells you that your perfume smells really good....but you aren't actually wearing any...just your deodorant and your own day's worth of sweaty muskiness....hahahahhahaha

 

Well this was a forever long email, and i'm sure my next won't be quite as long....but I LOVE IT HERE! it is sooo  much fun and i'm having the time of my life. i ride my bike around like a local (while still obeying all country laws and mission rules mum and dad!) weaving in and out of traffic, dodging trucks and car doors, stopping at street lights and contacting people on scooters....SO MUCH FUN!

 

Well the church is true, the work is good, and when we trust in the Lord, HE WILL ALWAYS HELP US! Shen zhufu nimen!

 

 

email 9 mtc - hematuria

Subject: My time is slowly coming to a close! And as far as i know....I'm not dying! :)

Hello one and all!

 

Well i've had kind of a crazy week! Last week when i emailed, i felt 100% fine and was doing great :) Then on Wednesday, we had lots of excitement, and it just escalated as the week went on! On Wednesday morning, after personal study (Which was great because i studied 1 Samuel and learned all about young David) we went to gym. We usually go on splits to gym (that's why that picture from the Grounds girl was with a different missionary mum! And we get clothes from the older sisters who are leaving that's why you didnt recognize my sweater), sister latimer and ganowsky together to go to cardio, and Sister Anderson and I to the "fun" gym so she can play 4 square and so i can play volleyball. Close to the end of gym time, i realized that my temporary companion was gone! And i was the ONLY sister in the gym!!! I was really worried because i thought that maybe she left early with the other sisters and thought that i was going to leave with some others, so i started looking around for her. It turned out that she had decided to play basketball for a little bit and when she jumped up for the ball, she landed really badly on her ankle and was with the athletic trainers. So i went to her, and she was talking to a trainer. Because of the whole stomach flu epidemic going around, for that day only they had closed the health clinic at the mtc to those with other health problems/injuries and she had to go to the Student Health Center on BYU campus. I went with her, and she had to get an xray of her foot, so i just sat in the waiting room IN MY GYM CLOTHES waiting for an hour and a half while she saw various doctors.

 

(Funny side note/Awkward Moment!: This guy came in and sat down kind of by me in the waiting room. i think he had a cold or something, and he started up a conversation with me when he randomly asked how long i'd been waiting in line. I told him i was waiting for my companion and you could just see the shock on his face and he went really white, sat back, and was like "Oh.....you're a missionary?!" then he paused....awkwardly asked where i was going...and then was super relieved when they called him name to see the doctor next. It was really funny and I was wearing my name tag in plain sight the whole time....but he got really awkward

 

While waiting i got to read like 15 chapters in Alma which was FANTASTIC! and a few general conference talks from the ENSIGN which they had in the waiting room....only at BYU....hahahaha sis A finally came out and we went back to the MTC in time to shower, eat lunch, and get to class. THEN....at class right when sis gan and i were going to go teach, this HUGE wave of nausea hit me and i ran to the bathroom and threw up. I'd been having a lot of abdominal pain that day but had ignored it, so my teacher sent me back to our bedroom (if any missionary is feeling at all sick now, they teachers send them back to the dorms right away so that they don't get anyone else sick) and i stayed in the room the rest of the day/night. My companion told me that if i kept feeling super nauseated and in pain, that we would have to see the doctor in the morning, but i was convinced that i just had the same stomach bug everyone else had and wanted to just sleep it off. That day they also made a mtc-wide rule that if you were sick, you could be alone in your room without your companion as long as the door was open, or else too many people were missing class and getting sick from being cooped up with a sick person all day. So on thursday, my companion went to class in the morning, and then came woke me up, ambushed me in my sleepiness, made me put on sweats (i was wearing basketball shorts) and took me to the health clinic. When i got there i waited for 30 mins in the waiting room, 60 min alone in a exam room, and then the doctor spent about 2 minutes with me before he decided to send me to the BYU Health Center Urgent Care because i didn't have the flu, but he thought i might have Appendicits! So i went there and they tested me, and i came back negative for append but postive for Hematuria. So then....they told me i needed CT scan. They thought that i possible had a bladder problem (not infection) or kidney stones in my bowels? that were rubbing against the walls and causing me to bleed internally. So then i went BACK to the MTC health clinic to schedule my ct scan appointment and get a shuttle, then to get the Ct Scan (that took us about an hour and a half there or so) and then back to the MTC to get the results. BUt then they didnt have the results yet, so they sent me back (since i wasnt sick they let me go to class and gym :D) and then i went BACK to the doctors on Friday morning. They found out the CT scan was negative, but i was still having hematuria, so they then scheduled me to see the urologist at the hospital yesterday morning and i got an xray which came back negative, so NOW i have a scope scheduled for Monday morning, and if that comes back normal, then they'll just write me off (pain and nausea and all) and send me to Taiwan. They said that if i did have a problem though that i wouldn't be able to go to Taiwan until they fixed it. Basically now though, until they figure out if there is a problem or not, i cannot go to Taiwan.

 

But never fear, I know that the Lord called me on this mission for a reason, and that i will be able to go to taiwan. I was able to receive two amazing blessing from my District Leader Elder Gish. The first when we just thought that i had the flu, and the second when i was going to have to go and see all the additional doctors. I know that the Lord will help me, and that i will be able to do what the Lord requires of me if i just believe in him. We should never have fear, because we are meant to succeed. I have angels watching over me, and will receive the help that i require in order to do what the Lord requires :)

 

I love this gospel so very much, and am honored to have been a missionary of the Lord these 2 months. I cannot wait to see what the next 16 or so months have in store for me, and only hope that i might have the strength necessary to do what i must. I know that the Lord helps those who do their best and trust in him, and that i what i will do! I LOVE YOU ALL! and hope that you continue to read your scriptures and pray EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. for i know that the Lord will bless your efforts.

Urologist and hematuria - MTC pre - 9

Okay I went to the Urologist this morning to double check what is going on. I have hematuria which basically means blood in my urine. I can't see it, it is just mircroscopic and keeps showing up in the tests that they keep doing. Today i got a xray since the ct scan came back, and the xray was negative for any kidney stones (which they keep thinking i have but i do not) so they scheduled me to get a scope next monday at 1:30 pm at the Provo Hospital (which is where i went today). If the scope comes back negative, then they'll know that i'm not bleeding from any of my major organs down there (which is what they're mostly concerned about right now) and even though i have pain and nausea, they'll write it off and send me to Taiwan. If there is a problem that they find, then i won't go to Taiwan until they find out how to fix it. I do not have a bladder infection or anything. No pain when i pee, just pain in my lower right abdomen....like sharp knife pains. I truly do not believe that anything is wrong, but they keep wanting to do tests so that they don't get into trouble if i have health problems in Taiwan. I'm sorry this is causing you so much stress or if it is expensive for you :( I still think that i shouldn't have gone to the doctor in the first place, but my companion made me go. which just ended up snowballing into this mess. I'm sorry! The pain hurts, but it's definitely something i can live with no problem. I'll email my normal email tomorrow as well and try to send more pictures home :)

Latimer and Anderson are leaving the same time as us, but they are going to Taibei. Thank you for my necklace and getting the phone card!

I LOVED MY CALENDAR! It's fantastic :) I use it to show people my family :D and it's also really nice to have a calendar. Thanks for putting cute pictures of me on it hahaha :)

Oh and Elder Jenson said to tell you that your bread is the BEST BREAD HE"S EATEN EVERRR! hahaha he's a big fan :O) So is elder vomocil! Elder Lotulelei wanted to know if you could make more manapua....he is in love with them!

Have you seen luke? Tell him hey for me! And please tell Zane i say Hiiiii! I wrote him a letter in December, but i'm not sure if he ever got it. I used an address i had from forever ago, and it was all in Spanish. hahaha

Oh, and do you know ashton's apartment number? i have the address but not the apt number.

Oh and will you tell sawyer happy late birthday for me? His birthday was yesterday.

okay...let see i still have my long email tmrw that everyone can read so i'll leave things for that.

OH! i've also lost a lot of weight, (especially this last week hahaha, but throughout my stay here as well) could you get me some smaller garments? could you get me a few Caranessa bottoms in a XS and a few Caranessa tops in a 32T? That would be fantastic, and i'll send my way too big ones home with my other stuff. and I also am supposed to bring a carry-on when i go to taiwan with a few days clothes in it, could you ask ashton if i could pretty please use one of his old rugby bags? if not if you could find a small cheap one that would be great. I LOVE YOU SO MUCH! I'll talk to you tmrw :)

I hope you are both feeling better and enjoying being empty nesters ;) I'm glad you're figuring out your phone, so now you can text ashton and keep an eye on him. I've been praying that he'll figure things out and end it with Tess, because i've seen what having Girlfriends does to these elders here....he really shouldn't have a gf.

I LOVE YOU! don't forget to tell zane hey for me :)

mtc 8th week

MUMMY, DADDY, PUMPKIN, and erryone else!!!

 

I love you all! You're the BEST! I also forgot to tell you a funny/awkward story in my last email! So i'll make sure there is one today for sure ;)  This week has been back to the usual schedule, but a few exciting things did happen!

 

Last week there was a lot of drama in the younger generation, and some of the sisters and elders were having problems....I was very stressed and wasn't sure what I needed to address with Pres Baker so he could handle it or if I should just take care of it myself....so I prayed about it! and decided to do what I could, and if the situations didn't improve then i would hand things over to him. It's sometimes hard (especially in the MTC) to know when to take care of things yourself especially because there are so many rules about different kinds of advice and relationships between different missionaries whether is a sister and a sister, an elder and an elder, or a sister and an elder. I was able to sit down with the missionaries though and talk through some of the issues. It's funny because they always ask me what I think, and I ALWAYS tell them straight up what I think. Even if it's not what they want to hear, actually especially if it's what they don't want to hear. And things worked out! I think the Lord assigned me that calling on purpose, because he knew that they would need a bold, blunt, honest sister to knock them off of their high horses. Especially because i've been humbled so many times that I know the importance of not being prideful. It all worked out in the end, they are all getting along now and love each other for the most part, and Pres Baker told me i did all the right things....and NOW I'VE BEEN RELEASED! just when I was starting to love my calling. But it's nice not having all the extra meetings now :)

 

Dex was very nice when he said that I did a good job in the talent show. It was a very intense song and the piano was shaking....one of the mikes actually fell hahahahha but the MTC Mission Presidency was impressed so I guess that's alright :) I think that I'm going to audition again to play in another meeting or devotional, the presidency wives (who are in charge of musical numbers) were very enthusiastic when I asked them if I should or not. I'm also playing for sacrament next sunday (2nd jan sunday) but i haven't decided what yet!

 

Let's see what else.....OH YEAH! THere is a huge sickness epidemic spreading throughout the MTC! Sis Gan was really sick yesterday so we just stayed into our bedroom and I just read my grammar books and wrote letters while she tried to sleep it off. Tons of people are sick today though, so we won't even have the big devotional tonight, they are just going to broadcast it to our classrooms, and if anyone is sick, they are supposed to stay in their rooms. It is really bad timing because the health office and everything is closed because of new years. no one is allowed to shake hands, hug, high-five or anything! The sickness hit kind of on sunday and mostly yesterday and today though. GOOD NEWS: I FEEL GREAT! so don't worry about me at all! Most of the kids that are sick are just REALLY sick for about a day....day and a half and then they feel fine! We'll all be careful about washing our hands and stuff though :)

 

I have lots and lots of snacks already actually that people have sent me, so I'm doing pretty good.

 

Okay Awkward Moment TIME:

.....that awkward moment when I reach out to touch an elder's arm to get his attention when someone bumps me from behind and I fall and end up stroking from his shoulder down to his hip....hahahahhaha and we both just look at each other in panic and then awkwardly walk away hahahahahha (don't worry though! It's all fine and we both knew it was an accident....we laugh it off now!)

.....that awkward moment when you're practicing your flashcards outloud and Pres Baker (who has really awesome pronunciation and tones hears you and corrects you....after a few minutes of this he looks at your card to see what you were trying to say and then goes...."Oh you had it right before....I thought you were saying something else..." hahahahhahahaha

.....that awkward moment when you are teaching your investigator and she's confused about why she needs to follow the commandments so you give her an all character BOM and think you've turned to 1 Nephi 3:7and teaching her about obedience, but you've really had her open up to 3 Nephi 3:7....go read it and then you'll understand why she was even more gunshy!" hahaahhahaha

 

Dui YesuJidu you xin xin bao kuo jianding di xiangxin ta shi shen de dushengzi, shi shijie de jiuzhu he jiushuzhu. Dui Jidu de xin xin hui  yindao women caiqu xindong. Women dui Yesu Jidu you xin xin shik, jiuhui jieshou he yunyong ta de shuzui ji jiaodao. You xinxin hui shi women jin quanli qu renshi jiuzhu, bian de geng xiang ta yiyang. women hui xiangyao xuexi tae jieming, bing qie jiayi fucong. jishi women renghui fancuo, dan women hui jinli zunshou ta de jieming he bi mian fanzui, lai biaoming women dui tade ai. women yong xinxin qiqiu neng huode liliang lai kefu you nuo. dang women peiyang chu dui mou xiang fuyin yuanze de xinxin, ru qidao, shi yinwei women xian dui yesujidu you zugou de xinxin, yin'er neng gou zunshou tade jieming.l dang women zunxing mou xiang jieming shi, women jiu cong jing yan zhong xue daole na xiang yuanze de zhen shi xing. Wo zhidao dang women you xinxin, shen neng gie women ziji. Feng Yesu Jidu de Ming. Amen

 

Okay...well my time is up, but i love you all and want you to know that i know that this church is true with all my heart.

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