(editor's note: just as in the LDS bible there is a JST for Joseph Smith Translation I accept all rights and privileges to make a MST (Mandi Scandal Translation). I have never needed to use it before but I did with this most recent e-mail. Jade is obviously not thinking clearly and I had to use my interpretive powers to correct her letter.)
hello family. i'm glad that the california trip was such a blast. you have gone so many times since i left! i hope that you aren't getting too sick of it to go with me next year.
so, move calls came. probably the most depressing day of last move( MST .. but not of my life). sister stratford really felt like we were going to stay together. when she told our first day in chaozhou i thought to myself, "oh no! we better like each other." i worried that two moves together would kill us. but as last move came to an end, the thought of being separated was devastating. we had such a good move together. we worked really hard and were able to accomplish a lot. chaozhou still isn't booming with investigators, but our less-active members are stronger, we have some new, good investigators and the branch seems happier as a whole. i'm so grateful that i was able to serve with sister stratford. she is my **best friend (MST... ONLY MANDI CAN TRULY EVER BE my best friend. I am having a deliroius moment. Siter stratford if just cool. That is it.) and i know that it will be that way for life. i think one of my biggest insecurities is that i like people more than they like me. does that make sense? i really like people really fast. often, i think the feelings of comaradery are not reciprocated. i thought it was so with sister stratford. then about a week ago she was talking about how life would be when she got home. she said, "i'll have new friends. like you. we'll be friends forever." i was so happy! i hope you all know that she is going to be adopted into the ozawa family. it has already been arranged. ( MST.. if there were room in my family we would totally adopt her but Mandi Scandal is so freaking cool that there is no need.)
i was moved to jiayi, the northern-most part of our mission. it's kind of funny- during the hottest months of the year i was in the hottest area; now during the coldest, i'm in the coldest. it should be fun. it will be nice to have a christmas wearing sweaters and cute scarves rather than short sleeves. my companion is sister clarissa chen. she's from singapore and went to school at byu-idaho. actually, she was roommates with ali hulme, who went to centennial and is in the valley vista ward. kind of cool, eh? i don't know her very well, but she served with sister ipson (my trainer) and sister ipson loved her, so i'm sure it will be good. sister stratford and i both worried that our companionship would taint all subsequent moves for the worse. i'm determined not to let that happen. i've learned how vital a good companionship is. really, it makes all the difference. in past moves i've seen that when companionships don't have unity investigators and members react differently and it's hard to get them progressing. i think that when there is a lot of love between companions it is easier to feel the savior's love when you are around them. oh! remember elder chen? my favorite taiwanese elder that i served with in pingdong for two moves? he's in my district here. yes, it is going to be a good move.
i need to tell you about thanksgiving in chaozhou. it was spectacular. i couldn't have asked for more! on thanksgiving day morning we had a testimony meeting with our zone. this move the whole mission has been focusing on the book of mormon, so pretty much every testimony was about the power of that book. it was really neat. everyone had different experiences and feelings all testifying of the same thing, the truth of the book of mormon. i think it was a perfect way for us missionaries to spend the day. i think it helped me to remember how grateful i am for the principles within the book of mormon throughout the day. the book of mormon is where i gained my testimony. i don't think one can be truly converted to christ without reading and studying it. it's so important! so read it!! for dinner sister stratford and i ate spring rolls, which was special because we only ate out once or twice all move.
on saturday our branch had a huge thanksgiving dinner, more like a feast! it was amaaazing! (wasake style amazing!) i don't think i've ever seen so much food in one place! we met an american girl named julianna a few weeks ago, then last week went out for tea with her, her sister and another friend. they are all in taiwan teaching english and doing service with a christian organization. talking to them about the church was interesting and cool. we invited them to come to the feast. they did. and they brought american style sweet potatoes! sister s and i about died! they were so delicious. combined with the turkey and mashed potatoes the members prepared, thanksgiving dinner felt almost complete. the spot that would have been left for cranberry sauce was filled with tons of taiwanese dishes and lots of delicious fruit. for dessert we had pumpkin pie. it was grand. what was even better than the food was the amount of people that came! a lot of members brought friends and non-member spouses (seriously, BIG strides for some of these people), a ton of investigators came and spent the whole time talking with members, some less-active members even came (one who came hadn't been to church in years but then came the next day!!). i had received my transfer call that morning, so i was able to say goodbye to everyone that night. i don't think i've ever become so attached to an area so quickly. poor guo mingyue started crying then gave me her scarf! it broke my heart. i love chaozhou!
i'll update you on how everyone was when i left...
qiu sisters: still amazing. their baptismal date is still set for the 27th of december. as it creeps closer they are going to have to tell their parents. i'm sure it will work out. they are great and will be great members.
lai meiying: still fighting the word of wisdom. but improving slowly. she came to church on sunday. that's good.
hong yixiang: i think she'll get baptized.
he xiaojie: really likes prayer. really interested in the book of mormon.
wang jiemei: wants to start reading the book of mormon in a different way- rather than like a story book, she wants to read it to feel god's love and understand him. also said that members could come visit her!
tian jiaqi: improving. willing to keep the word of wisdom and come to church. it's weird to think that at the beginning of the move we were going to drop her. i love her, she's great. mom (and dad)- she wants to take us all shopping next year! hooray!
that's pretty much it. writing this email, i'm realizing how much i miss chaozhou and sister stratford already. i just told elder chen about last move and got kind of choked up. sister s and i were near tears each time we told anyone about the move, i thought that i had gotten that all out but i guess not yet. but, i know this transfer will be great. jiayi is great and famous for it's turkey rice so i have no reason to complain. i love you all and love the lord and his work! happy december!!
love,
sister jlo
Monday, December 1, 2008
Transfer 6: Week 6
i can't believe this transfer is ending. it has flown by. sister stratford still thinks that we'll stay together another move. we'll know around friday or saturday then moves will happen on monday.
i also can't believe that you are going to disneyland again! my first thought was that you've decided to have as much fun as possible while i'm gone to make me jealous. then i realized that it's more likely that your happiness has waned since my mtc entrance date and you're trying as hard as possible to get it back by going to the happiest place on earth.
this morning as i looked back on our lessons this past week trying to figure out what things are important enough to include in this email i saw an overarching theme throughout the week. change. everyone we meet with is at a different place. they all have different relationships with christ and his gospel (as would be expected). i can see that their attitude towards change is what is the greatest influence on their closeness with the savior. as i type i am realizing that maybe it's not their attitude towards change so much as their humility. i think in reflecting on these things is a lesson that i need to learn. heavenly father is screaming, "sister ozawa, you dimwit, be more humble!!!!" so, i'll tell you about our investigators and members and what they are and are not doing to change...
-wang jiemei. a less-active member. she used to be pretty cold to the missionaries, but we've met with her every week for the last three and a visible change is occuring. our first week with her we committed her to read the book of mormon. she reads every night before going to bed. she reports that she sleeps more soundly and that her days seem more peaceful. she told us that she thinks it's because the book of mormon isn't as gripping as the novels she typically reads before sleep; we know that it's more than that. when we visited her on friday she was so much happier than usually. we told her. she said she was happy to see us. she doesn't realize what the book of mormon is doing to her life. she's not ready at this time to admit the changes she's experiencing. i think that she'll continue to improve and then plateau until she's willing to say, "yes, this is impacting me. yes, i'll move forward accordingly."
-zheng yuling. an investigator we only meet with occasionally because she's really busy. she's christian and loves the bible. she's really really nice to us when we see her, gives us lots of delicious food to eat on the spot and take home. our plan was to teach her the plan of salvation using the bible as much as possible (preparing for the lesson helped me too see how much more clearly the plan is set forth in the book of mormon) but as soon as we walked in and sat down she asked if we could read from the bible and not the book of mormon. we started talking about her concernes with the scriptures we gave her. we testified over and over that they have the same purpose and the same gospel. eventually it came out that if she figures out that the book of mormon is true everything she believes and is doing now will crumble. i imagine that that must be a scary feeling. she knows that the truth of the book of mormon invite her to change her life and right now she's not ready to do it. i think she knows the answer she'll receive when she prays about the book of mormon, so she's hesitant to do so.
-lin jiemei. a less-active member, hurt very badly by a member and unwilling to return because of it. i love meeting with her because i learn so much each time. the spirit is always strong and undeniable. i hate meeting with her because she tells us that she's feeling the holy ghost then tells us that she won't follow his promptings. we shared with her about the holy ghost and she started talking about how everyday in her life is the same, she sounded cold and numb. we shared 2 nephi 25:23-26 with her. i know that she can became ALIVE in christ if she will just take his hand. i know that his arm is extended to all. she told us about all of the things that she sees around her that she wants to change. we testified that christ would help her transform her life, but it would take effort on her part (minimal effort in comparison to the things he can do for her!). we asked if she was willing to pray and read daily. she had no clear answer. the atonement already happened! it can only heal us and help us as much as we let it! so many people around me know this, but aren't willing to let the lord work in them! it breaks my heart.
-lai meiying. still won't give up coffee and tea. still convinced that her faith will save her. she knows that this things are true but she won't do what it takes to follow the savior. we shared moroni 7:5 with her and explained that as others know what kind of people we are by our actions, god does too. of course he knows our hearts more than anyone on earth could, but if we don't show him that we love him pronouncing ourselves as disciples of christ is pointless.
-he xiaojie. one of our miracles from last week. we met with her for the first time and taught her about heavenly father and the restoration. we told her that heavenly father loves her and that she can feel his love if she'd like to. i wish you could all see what i saw! she looked at us and said, "i can? i can feel god's love?!" we said yes and retaught prayer. we invited her to say the closing prayer. she didn't realize that we meant aloud. so, we waited for more than ten minutes as she prayed for the first time. finally we had to interrupt her and tell her that we needed to leave. (it was a hilarious moment for us!) it was really neat to see her pouring her heart out to her father for the first time. i love seeing her take the very first steps that it takes to know god. i think she'll love hearing the plan of happiness next sunday!
-tian jiaqi. has been meeting with us every other week for a couple of months. she has amazing insights but no actions to back her understanding. we planned this week to review the restoration but when we started she told us she had been reading the book of mormon and had a question about repentance. we ended up having an amazing discussion about what the atonement offers us and what we must do to utilize it. then, the next day she came to church! i think that as we shared the peace and joy of changing our hearts for christ she wanted it.
(i just realized that i'm unsure that these summaries make sense. and i feel like i sound preachy. if so it's because i'm preaching to and lecturing myself. i see me in all of these investigators.)
-hong yixiang. another spectacular lesson. i love her so much. she came in to the lesson and started telling us about some challenges with work. so we taught her why we have challenges and how we can overcome them (the plan of salvation and the atonement). it was so cool to see her immediately start to apply what we shared with her! she was so excited about all of it. almost the entire lesson was on the atonement and why we need it and why heavenly father has given it to us. she's understanding and doing!
-qiu sisters. still amazing. almost finished with the lessons. ya ping told us she's going to tell her mom about what she's learning and about her desire to be baptized then tell her mom that the only way she can decide whether her daughters can join the church is through prayer! i know heavenly father will bless their parent. i know he is softening their hearts.
my patriarchal blessing says that as i testify of the savior and his sacrifice, my mouth and mind will be filled. this week i have truly seen that. each time that we centered our lesson on him the spirit was amazing and our investigators and members could feel it. this week my gratitude for our redeemer has intensified so much. just in time for thanksgiving. (yes, dad, we'll spend it working but in the morning we'll have a special testimony meeting with our zone. on saturday, though, we'll have a branch party with turkey.)
as i've seen all of this change (and lack of) in the lives of those around me i've noticed that i have a lot that i need to do to let the gospel change me more. i know that i've progressed but i'm still so so so far from being christlike. i've tried hard this move to figure out how to get my will in line with heavenly father's. yesterday, reading moroni 7:5-10, i figured out some things i can do. i think that watching my intentions will help me to figure out whether my heart is as it should be. for example, why am i studying in the morning? because it's a rule? because if i didn't i'd be bored? because i want to understand deep doctrines for myself? or because i want to strengthen those i'm serving? or why am i riding my bike fast? because there are people to teach at my destination or because i'm too scared to talk to those next to me? our intentions are everything! if our intentions are off, our actions are pointless in a sense. so, this week i'm going to be watching myself and my desires and reasons behind what i do.
time is almost up. have fun in disney.
i have so much more to tell you all. i miss you and love you. i'm grateful for you!
happy thanksgiving!!
love,
sister jade o.
i also can't believe that you are going to disneyland again! my first thought was that you've decided to have as much fun as possible while i'm gone to make me jealous. then i realized that it's more likely that your happiness has waned since my mtc entrance date and you're trying as hard as possible to get it back by going to the happiest place on earth.
this morning as i looked back on our lessons this past week trying to figure out what things are important enough to include in this email i saw an overarching theme throughout the week. change. everyone we meet with is at a different place. they all have different relationships with christ and his gospel (as would be expected). i can see that their attitude towards change is what is the greatest influence on their closeness with the savior. as i type i am realizing that maybe it's not their attitude towards change so much as their humility. i think in reflecting on these things is a lesson that i need to learn. heavenly father is screaming, "sister ozawa, you dimwit, be more humble!!!!" so, i'll tell you about our investigators and members and what they are and are not doing to change...
-wang jiemei. a less-active member. she used to be pretty cold to the missionaries, but we've met with her every week for the last three and a visible change is occuring. our first week with her we committed her to read the book of mormon. she reads every night before going to bed. she reports that she sleeps more soundly and that her days seem more peaceful. she told us that she thinks it's because the book of mormon isn't as gripping as the novels she typically reads before sleep; we know that it's more than that. when we visited her on friday she was so much happier than usually. we told her. she said she was happy to see us. she doesn't realize what the book of mormon is doing to her life. she's not ready at this time to admit the changes she's experiencing. i think that she'll continue to improve and then plateau until she's willing to say, "yes, this is impacting me. yes, i'll move forward accordingly."
-zheng yuling. an investigator we only meet with occasionally because she's really busy. she's christian and loves the bible. she's really really nice to us when we see her, gives us lots of delicious food to eat on the spot and take home. our plan was to teach her the plan of salvation using the bible as much as possible (preparing for the lesson helped me too see how much more clearly the plan is set forth in the book of mormon) but as soon as we walked in and sat down she asked if we could read from the bible and not the book of mormon. we started talking about her concernes with the scriptures we gave her. we testified over and over that they have the same purpose and the same gospel. eventually it came out that if she figures out that the book of mormon is true everything she believes and is doing now will crumble. i imagine that that must be a scary feeling. she knows that the truth of the book of mormon invite her to change her life and right now she's not ready to do it. i think she knows the answer she'll receive when she prays about the book of mormon, so she's hesitant to do so.
-lin jiemei. a less-active member, hurt very badly by a member and unwilling to return because of it. i love meeting with her because i learn so much each time. the spirit is always strong and undeniable. i hate meeting with her because she tells us that she's feeling the holy ghost then tells us that she won't follow his promptings. we shared with her about the holy ghost and she started talking about how everyday in her life is the same, she sounded cold and numb. we shared 2 nephi 25:23-26 with her. i know that she can became ALIVE in christ if she will just take his hand. i know that his arm is extended to all. she told us about all of the things that she sees around her that she wants to change. we testified that christ would help her transform her life, but it would take effort on her part (minimal effort in comparison to the things he can do for her!). we asked if she was willing to pray and read daily. she had no clear answer. the atonement already happened! it can only heal us and help us as much as we let it! so many people around me know this, but aren't willing to let the lord work in them! it breaks my heart.
-lai meiying. still won't give up coffee and tea. still convinced that her faith will save her. she knows that this things are true but she won't do what it takes to follow the savior. we shared moroni 7:5 with her and explained that as others know what kind of people we are by our actions, god does too. of course he knows our hearts more than anyone on earth could, but if we don't show him that we love him pronouncing ourselves as disciples of christ is pointless.
-he xiaojie. one of our miracles from last week. we met with her for the first time and taught her about heavenly father and the restoration. we told her that heavenly father loves her and that she can feel his love if she'd like to. i wish you could all see what i saw! she looked at us and said, "i can? i can feel god's love?!" we said yes and retaught prayer. we invited her to say the closing prayer. she didn't realize that we meant aloud. so, we waited for more than ten minutes as she prayed for the first time. finally we had to interrupt her and tell her that we needed to leave. (it was a hilarious moment for us!) it was really neat to see her pouring her heart out to her father for the first time. i love seeing her take the very first steps that it takes to know god. i think she'll love hearing the plan of happiness next sunday!
-tian jiaqi. has been meeting with us every other week for a couple of months. she has amazing insights but no actions to back her understanding. we planned this week to review the restoration but when we started she told us she had been reading the book of mormon and had a question about repentance. we ended up having an amazing discussion about what the atonement offers us and what we must do to utilize it. then, the next day she came to church! i think that as we shared the peace and joy of changing our hearts for christ she wanted it.
(i just realized that i'm unsure that these summaries make sense. and i feel like i sound preachy. if so it's because i'm preaching to and lecturing myself. i see me in all of these investigators.)
-hong yixiang. another spectacular lesson. i love her so much. she came in to the lesson and started telling us about some challenges with work. so we taught her why we have challenges and how we can overcome them (the plan of salvation and the atonement). it was so cool to see her immediately start to apply what we shared with her! she was so excited about all of it. almost the entire lesson was on the atonement and why we need it and why heavenly father has given it to us. she's understanding and doing!
-qiu sisters. still amazing. almost finished with the lessons. ya ping told us she's going to tell her mom about what she's learning and about her desire to be baptized then tell her mom that the only way she can decide whether her daughters can join the church is through prayer! i know heavenly father will bless their parent. i know he is softening their hearts.
my patriarchal blessing says that as i testify of the savior and his sacrifice, my mouth and mind will be filled. this week i have truly seen that. each time that we centered our lesson on him the spirit was amazing and our investigators and members could feel it. this week my gratitude for our redeemer has intensified so much. just in time for thanksgiving. (yes, dad, we'll spend it working but in the morning we'll have a special testimony meeting with our zone. on saturday, though, we'll have a branch party with turkey.)
as i've seen all of this change (and lack of) in the lives of those around me i've noticed that i have a lot that i need to do to let the gospel change me more. i know that i've progressed but i'm still so so so far from being christlike. i've tried hard this move to figure out how to get my will in line with heavenly father's. yesterday, reading moroni 7:5-10, i figured out some things i can do. i think that watching my intentions will help me to figure out whether my heart is as it should be. for example, why am i studying in the morning? because it's a rule? because if i didn't i'd be bored? because i want to understand deep doctrines for myself? or because i want to strengthen those i'm serving? or why am i riding my bike fast? because there are people to teach at my destination or because i'm too scared to talk to those next to me? our intentions are everything! if our intentions are off, our actions are pointless in a sense. so, this week i'm going to be watching myself and my desires and reasons behind what i do.
time is almost up. have fun in disney.
i have so much more to tell you all. i miss you and love you. i'm grateful for you!
happy thanksgiving!!
love,
sister jade o.
Transfer 6: Week 5
family! i'm always so glad to hear from you. thank you for the emails and for keeping me updated of the going ons in las vegas. phoebe and naomi- can we watch high school music three when i get home? if you say no i'll sing the high school musical one soundtrack until you cave... "it's hard to believe i just couldn't see you were always right beside me...this feeling's like no other. i want you to knoooooow."
this last week has been great. this transfer is going by so fast. i'm really going to miss sister stratford. she has taught me a lot and we have tons of fun. lately my mind is swimming with weird thoughts. not weird thoughts. just things i haven't really thought about before. i feel like the more i understand the gospel the more i think and sometimes all that thinking turns into a cloud of questions and comments over my head. something i've thought about this week is how amazing being a missionary is..(edited for content)..missions change lives, many.
updates on our investigators/less-actives/new members...
-the qiu sisters are amazing still. i am always floored by their understanding and by the way they ponder the things we teach. last night we talked about baptism and they both talked about how much they are looking forward to it.
-we have a new investigator that started in pingdong and is now meeting with us here. her name is lai meiying. she's great and told us the first time she met with us that she knows this is god's church. the only problem at this point is that she and her parents are opening a coffee shop and her responsibility is to buy all of the coffee and tea. she has gone to school to train on how to know what coffee is the best quality. so, the word of wisdom is tough. she has faith but it's kind of strange. for example, when she tries her hardest to not try the coffee she is preparing for customers they always tell her that it's delicious. she looks at this as a blessing from heavenly father. sometimes she thinks she doesn't need to obey the commandments because her faith is sufficient. so, we're trying to build her testimony of prophets and the book of mormon being the word of god to help her see that what is written in the scriptures and spoken by the living prophets is heavebly father's will for her without exceptions. any other ideas?
-yesterday we met with hong yixiang for the second time. she's an amazing woman that sister stratford contacted last transfer. during our lesson yesterday the member that was helping us talked a lot about joining the church. yixiang said that at this point she has no interest in being baptized, she's only interested in understanding our doctrines. the member left early and the yixiang asked us about the process that we went through to know the things that we teach. i have never been asked that before. sister stratford and i have similar experiences. we both shared fairly openly about how we know. yixiang then told us that we were different than any other christians she has met. she said that the way we speak about the gospel has a power and conviction that no one else has. she said that there was something different about us, something light and comforting and that when she's with us she feels peace. i wanted to just up and say "shengling!!!!" "the holy ghost!" she said that she wants to have the same qualities. i think that heavenly father puts halos on missionaries that we would have no way of putting on ourselves. i think he turns us into so much more than we could ever be on our own. i wonder if that will go away the day i have to stop wearing my name tag. i hope not.
-on friday during the time that we typically would meet with xia guo mingyue we had her take us to a less-active member's home in the mountains. i have never seen such a good driver. we are on narrow, scary roads and she was always in control. i love seeing recent converts share their testimonies! mingyue is so amazing! she helped the less-active xiong jiemei feel comfortable and loved. i am so blessed to know mingyue and to have been able to watch her grow in the gospel.
on sunday we had a little miracle. a few weeks ago we contacted a girl that gave us her information. the number ended up being out of service and we suspected the address to be false as well but we figured we'd check anyway. if it indeed was not a real address we'd tract in the area then go to another neighborhood and tract some more until we went home for the night. this move we haven't had much success tracting so i questioned our plans a bit. when we learned that our contact had lied about her phone number and address i was discouraged and kind of upset wondering how we were ever going to find new investigators in chaozhou. then heavenly father opened my eyes and blessed us. the first door we knocked on was a woman in her mid-fifties with an ugly dog. she let us in and we taught her a lesson. she set up for tuesday, so we've seen her twice since i last wrote, and she's now a new investigator! after teaching her it was time to go to the next neighborhood. the first door we knocked on the woman let us in and fed us delicious oranges then listened to our message and set up for next sunday. by the time we finished it was time to go home. we had an hour and a half to knock doors. we ended up with two lessons and two new investigators. heavenly father loves us and them!
two things i've been thinking about/learned this week...
-jacob 2:10. jacob is such a good example to me! he did such hard things. he was called to cry repentance unto a wicked wicked people. he was sad that he had to do it but knew he was commanded by god, so he did hard things. he didn't hold back. i think that's how i need to be as a missionary. i cannot be afraid of teach commandments or asking people to change for the better. heavenly father asks us to do difficult things, but never impossible things.
-sacrament meeting is so important! i was studying about the gospel of jesus christ. faith-repentance-baptism-the gift of the holy ghost-endure to the end. i realized that we don't receive forgiveness when we repent. rather, remission of sins comes with baptism. so, if we want to be forgiven after baptism we have to take the sacrament. when we do, it's like being baptized again. we're clean again every week. every week we have the chance to tell heavenly father that we will follow his son and that we will keep the commandments and he reminds us that he will bless us with the spirit. it is foolish for us to think that he will forgive us or guide us through the holy ghost if we aren't keeping up our end of the baptismal covenants including partaking of the sacrament weekly. isn't it cool that we have the chance to be sin-free every sunday! way cool!
time is running out. i love you and miss you all. john taylor is back in las vegas as of yesterday. isn't that weird?! before we know it i will be too. my mission is flying by! i love every minute.
i hope you are all happy and well.
love,
sister jade
this last week has been great. this transfer is going by so fast. i'm really going to miss sister stratford. she has taught me a lot and we have tons of fun. lately my mind is swimming with weird thoughts. not weird thoughts. just things i haven't really thought about before. i feel like the more i understand the gospel the more i think and sometimes all that thinking turns into a cloud of questions and comments over my head. something i've thought about this week is how amazing being a missionary is..(edited for content)..missions change lives, many.
updates on our investigators/less-actives/new members...
-the qiu sisters are amazing still. i am always floored by their understanding and by the way they ponder the things we teach. last night we talked about baptism and they both talked about how much they are looking forward to it.
-we have a new investigator that started in pingdong and is now meeting with us here. her name is lai meiying. she's great and told us the first time she met with us that she knows this is god's church. the only problem at this point is that she and her parents are opening a coffee shop and her responsibility is to buy all of the coffee and tea. she has gone to school to train on how to know what coffee is the best quality. so, the word of wisdom is tough. she has faith but it's kind of strange. for example, when she tries her hardest to not try the coffee she is preparing for customers they always tell her that it's delicious. she looks at this as a blessing from heavenly father. sometimes she thinks she doesn't need to obey the commandments because her faith is sufficient. so, we're trying to build her testimony of prophets and the book of mormon being the word of god to help her see that what is written in the scriptures and spoken by the living prophets is heavebly father's will for her without exceptions. any other ideas?
-yesterday we met with hong yixiang for the second time. she's an amazing woman that sister stratford contacted last transfer. during our lesson yesterday the member that was helping us talked a lot about joining the church. yixiang said that at this point she has no interest in being baptized, she's only interested in understanding our doctrines. the member left early and the yixiang asked us about the process that we went through to know the things that we teach. i have never been asked that before. sister stratford and i have similar experiences. we both shared fairly openly about how we know. yixiang then told us that we were different than any other christians she has met. she said that the way we speak about the gospel has a power and conviction that no one else has. she said that there was something different about us, something light and comforting and that when she's with us she feels peace. i wanted to just up and say "shengling!!!!" "the holy ghost!" she said that she wants to have the same qualities. i think that heavenly father puts halos on missionaries that we would have no way of putting on ourselves. i think he turns us into so much more than we could ever be on our own. i wonder if that will go away the day i have to stop wearing my name tag. i hope not.
-on friday during the time that we typically would meet with xia guo mingyue we had her take us to a less-active member's home in the mountains. i have never seen such a good driver. we are on narrow, scary roads and she was always in control. i love seeing recent converts share their testimonies! mingyue is so amazing! she helped the less-active xiong jiemei feel comfortable and loved. i am so blessed to know mingyue and to have been able to watch her grow in the gospel.
on sunday we had a little miracle. a few weeks ago we contacted a girl that gave us her information. the number ended up being out of service and we suspected the address to be false as well but we figured we'd check anyway. if it indeed was not a real address we'd tract in the area then go to another neighborhood and tract some more until we went home for the night. this move we haven't had much success tracting so i questioned our plans a bit. when we learned that our contact had lied about her phone number and address i was discouraged and kind of upset wondering how we were ever going to find new investigators in chaozhou. then heavenly father opened my eyes and blessed us. the first door we knocked on was a woman in her mid-fifties with an ugly dog. she let us in and we taught her a lesson. she set up for tuesday, so we've seen her twice since i last wrote, and she's now a new investigator! after teaching her it was time to go to the next neighborhood. the first door we knocked on the woman let us in and fed us delicious oranges then listened to our message and set up for next sunday. by the time we finished it was time to go home. we had an hour and a half to knock doors. we ended up with two lessons and two new investigators. heavenly father loves us and them!
two things i've been thinking about/learned this week...
-jacob 2:10. jacob is such a good example to me! he did such hard things. he was called to cry repentance unto a wicked wicked people. he was sad that he had to do it but knew he was commanded by god, so he did hard things. he didn't hold back. i think that's how i need to be as a missionary. i cannot be afraid of teach commandments or asking people to change for the better. heavenly father asks us to do difficult things, but never impossible things.
-sacrament meeting is so important! i was studying about the gospel of jesus christ. faith-repentance-baptism-the gift of the holy ghost-endure to the end. i realized that we don't receive forgiveness when we repent. rather, remission of sins comes with baptism. so, if we want to be forgiven after baptism we have to take the sacrament. when we do, it's like being baptized again. we're clean again every week. every week we have the chance to tell heavenly father that we will follow his son and that we will keep the commandments and he reminds us that he will bless us with the spirit. it is foolish for us to think that he will forgive us or guide us through the holy ghost if we aren't keeping up our end of the baptismal covenants including partaking of the sacrament weekly. isn't it cool that we have the chance to be sin-free every sunday! way cool!
time is running out. i love you and miss you all. john taylor is back in las vegas as of yesterday. isn't that weird?! before we know it i will be too. my mission is flying by! i love every minute.
i hope you are all happy and well.
love,
sister jade
Benign Girl...Transfer 6: Week 4
(a toy brand here in taiwan.)
thank you all for the birthday wishes! and thank you for the packages! yesterday we had president's interviews so it was perfect- i was able to open my gifts from you on my birthday. i love every bit of what you sent. thank you for being so thoughtful! one of my favorite parts was the pictures! (dad- i also got the ones you emailed from disneyland.) i can't believe how big my sisters are getting. when you get a chance would you send more? chloe-i think your brown hair is beautiful. i think you (and jesse) should keep it that way!
yesterday was a good day. it started out really crumby, i didn't have much hope for things changing but they did... the past couple of days i've been a bit sick. the weather is finally changing here! sunday was really really cold and rainy. from sunday night on my head to my toes ached. on monday the elders gave me a blessing. tuesday morning things still hadn't change, then in the afternoon suddenly it all got better. my head still hurts, but things are good and happy.
yesterday afternoon we had a lesson with chen meihui, i think i mentioned her last week. in the morning she called us and told us she was sick and that we shouldn't go. a few days ago we made soup for a different less-active (let me tell you about our amazing soup! it was so delicious. i am going to make it for you when i get home. sister stratford and i wanted to do something for a semi-active member who's daughter we are working to prepare for baptism. we decided on soup but neither of us knew how to make it, so we winged it. it was really simple, just rice, chicken broth and vegetables, but it was so good. we were both merrily surprised. i think my description probably sounds kind of lame and boring. just know that the soup was amazing, and that as soon as the weather starts to cool down next fall i will be in las vegas preparing the same wonderful and healthy meal for you all.), so we offered to take it to her. after some convincing she consented. then she called again and told us her dad came home early so we shouldn't come. more convincing, more consenting. when we made it to her house she looked really happy. she let us sit down and share a quick message with her. we read from 3 nephi 17 (my favorite chapter in the book of mormon. yesterday as i read it preparing for her i got really emotional and overcome by the love christ has for all of us. i know that i'm at the tip of the iceberg when it comes to understanding the compassion he has for us. i'm grateful for the experiences i have here, feeling his mercy in my own life and feeling his love for our brothers and sisters here.). she was really happy about the new translation of the book of mormon that we gave her. we assigned her quite a bit of homework for next time and she gladly set up for next week. the closing prayer she gave was very sweet and we were happy to hear her talk about being excited to see us and hear from us when we call. when we got home in the evening we saw that she had called us about an hour after leaving her house. i called her and we had a wonderful conversation. she asked why her new book of mormon is different than her old one. i told her about the new translation and assured her that it has the same contents but is easier to understand. she said that as soon as we left she started reading and that it gave her the greatest feeling! she said that she used to have a hard time understanding scriptures and they always gave her a headache, but this time all she felt was peace!! she's so cute. she wants us to all go to lunch next week at a place that's pretty far. she has a scooter but no car, so she wants to ride bikes with us to her favorite restaurant! she's already happier than when we met her. i love her! i'm grateful to know her. i can't believe that this all started with her wanting her records removed!
after meeting with her we went to another less-active's home. she wasn't there but her husband was really nice to us and gave us her cell phone number. a lot of the time families will not cooperate when missionaries try to get in touch with their children or spouses, but lately we've seen miracles. everyone gives us cell phone numbers! it's amazing!
when we got back to chaozhou from meihui's village we contacted at a post office and didn't have much success by way of numbers, but did share with quite a few people. i don't want to way "we planted seeds" and use that as a fallback, but i feel like we worked hard and gave people things to think about. next, to the church for interviews. lethe, my friend from pingdong, happened to be at the church, making banana bread that she wanted to give me. it was so great to see her! i love her. i don't know why i am blessed to be making such great friends out here. sister stratford asked, "why does she love you so much?" i'm baffled too. but so grateful that she's doing well and came to chaozhou to see us. interviews were great. president hsu is hilarious and seems to have some recurring themes that make me want to be a missionary forever. he talked to me about how bad the economy is and told me about some things elder packer said in a testimony meeting about preparing for the worst and spending frugally. some of the things he said were really scary. is it really that bad over there? can obama help us? how do you all feel about him being president? i don't remember much about him beside the fact that kyle really liked him.
after interviews and dinner we met with the qiu sisters! they are so wonderful! i have never met anyone with such strong faith. they see miracles every day and i think it is because they expect them and know that heavenly father will provide the things they need. lately they have been praying for their father's heart to be softened, and it has! they said that he's been a lot nicer lately, even asks them how they are and tells them to ride carefully. we taught them about fasting and had an amazing member bear testimony about the power of fasting that she experienced as an investigator. the sisters said that our lesson we an answer to their prayers. after our lesson sister stratford and i took some books we used to the materials center. as we walked back down the hall the sisters told us to close our eyes and go into the room where they were. when we got in they started singing and gave me a cake! it was really sweet and the perfect end to the day. i'm really glad that my birthday here was lowkey but filled with really special experiences. i know that heavenly father was watching over me.
i think in telling you about yesterday i mentioned most of the highlights of the week. oh! i learned something cool in the scriptures that i want to share with you. everyone open to mosiah 29. in this part king mosiah is talking about they government. he proposes judges instead of a new king. as he is telling the people how they should decide these things he gives them really great advice. in verse 8 and verse 10 he repeats, "let us be wise" and says, "and consider these things" and "and look forward to these things." it made me think about important decisions in my life and how to go about them. i know that heavenly father will help us know what to do and will guide us through our toughest choices, but he will also require us to use our agency. i know that he won't force us to act without giving us the information that we need. most of that information he has already given us, through past experiences and through knowledge of things that are to come (the plan of salvation). so, if we use this knowledge that he has given us, knowledge that we can prayerfully remember through the holy ghost, we will be prepared to make decisions and do what we should. does that make sense? i think it was more eloquent in my head. i love the book of mormon and the small principles and truths that are hiding between every verse. i know that it's true. i know that i daily see it changing lives, including my own. go read it!
i have four minutes... other wonderful moments this week/transfer...
-sitting on the steps of a recent convert's house in a tiny village reading our mail because we had skipped dinner to get to her house.
-naming a street in chaozhou "the dead beat club" after the b-52's song because at night everyone is sitting outside of their shops talking and doing nothing.
-contacting a girl that said, "i want to hear! i want to know about my father. i'm god's child right?!" and being completely thrown off.
that's all. taiwan is great and not so hot. i think next week i'll start sporting those amazing scarves you sent! i love you all! ! ! ! !
love,
sister jade
thank you all for the birthday wishes! and thank you for the packages! yesterday we had president's interviews so it was perfect- i was able to open my gifts from you on my birthday. i love every bit of what you sent. thank you for being so thoughtful! one of my favorite parts was the pictures! (dad- i also got the ones you emailed from disneyland.) i can't believe how big my sisters are getting. when you get a chance would you send more? chloe-i think your brown hair is beautiful. i think you (and jesse) should keep it that way!
yesterday was a good day. it started out really crumby, i didn't have much hope for things changing but they did... the past couple of days i've been a bit sick. the weather is finally changing here! sunday was really really cold and rainy. from sunday night on my head to my toes ached. on monday the elders gave me a blessing. tuesday morning things still hadn't change, then in the afternoon suddenly it all got better. my head still hurts, but things are good and happy.
yesterday afternoon we had a lesson with chen meihui, i think i mentioned her last week. in the morning she called us and told us she was sick and that we shouldn't go. a few days ago we made soup for a different less-active (let me tell you about our amazing soup! it was so delicious. i am going to make it for you when i get home. sister stratford and i wanted to do something for a semi-active member who's daughter we are working to prepare for baptism. we decided on soup but neither of us knew how to make it, so we winged it. it was really simple, just rice, chicken broth and vegetables, but it was so good. we were both merrily surprised. i think my description probably sounds kind of lame and boring. just know that the soup was amazing, and that as soon as the weather starts to cool down next fall i will be in las vegas preparing the same wonderful and healthy meal for you all.), so we offered to take it to her. after some convincing she consented. then she called again and told us her dad came home early so we shouldn't come. more convincing, more consenting. when we made it to her house she looked really happy. she let us sit down and share a quick message with her. we read from 3 nephi 17 (my favorite chapter in the book of mormon. yesterday as i read it preparing for her i got really emotional and overcome by the love christ has for all of us. i know that i'm at the tip of the iceberg when it comes to understanding the compassion he has for us. i'm grateful for the experiences i have here, feeling his mercy in my own life and feeling his love for our brothers and sisters here.). she was really happy about the new translation of the book of mormon that we gave her. we assigned her quite a bit of homework for next time and she gladly set up for next week. the closing prayer she gave was very sweet and we were happy to hear her talk about being excited to see us and hear from us when we call. when we got home in the evening we saw that she had called us about an hour after leaving her house. i called her and we had a wonderful conversation. she asked why her new book of mormon is different than her old one. i told her about the new translation and assured her that it has the same contents but is easier to understand. she said that as soon as we left she started reading and that it gave her the greatest feeling! she said that she used to have a hard time understanding scriptures and they always gave her a headache, but this time all she felt was peace!! she's so cute. she wants us to all go to lunch next week at a place that's pretty far. she has a scooter but no car, so she wants to ride bikes with us to her favorite restaurant! she's already happier than when we met her. i love her! i'm grateful to know her. i can't believe that this all started with her wanting her records removed!
after meeting with her we went to another less-active's home. she wasn't there but her husband was really nice to us and gave us her cell phone number. a lot of the time families will not cooperate when missionaries try to get in touch with their children or spouses, but lately we've seen miracles. everyone gives us cell phone numbers! it's amazing!
when we got back to chaozhou from meihui's village we contacted at a post office and didn't have much success by way of numbers, but did share with quite a few people. i don't want to way "we planted seeds" and use that as a fallback, but i feel like we worked hard and gave people things to think about. next, to the church for interviews. lethe, my friend from pingdong, happened to be at the church, making banana bread that she wanted to give me. it was so great to see her! i love her. i don't know why i am blessed to be making such great friends out here. sister stratford asked, "why does she love you so much?" i'm baffled too. but so grateful that she's doing well and came to chaozhou to see us. interviews were great. president hsu is hilarious and seems to have some recurring themes that make me want to be a missionary forever. he talked to me about how bad the economy is and told me about some things elder packer said in a testimony meeting about preparing for the worst and spending frugally. some of the things he said were really scary. is it really that bad over there? can obama help us? how do you all feel about him being president? i don't remember much about him beside the fact that kyle really liked him.
after interviews and dinner we met with the qiu sisters! they are so wonderful! i have never met anyone with such strong faith. they see miracles every day and i think it is because they expect them and know that heavenly father will provide the things they need. lately they have been praying for their father's heart to be softened, and it has! they said that he's been a lot nicer lately, even asks them how they are and tells them to ride carefully. we taught them about fasting and had an amazing member bear testimony about the power of fasting that she experienced as an investigator. the sisters said that our lesson we an answer to their prayers. after our lesson sister stratford and i took some books we used to the materials center. as we walked back down the hall the sisters told us to close our eyes and go into the room where they were. when we got in they started singing and gave me a cake! it was really sweet and the perfect end to the day. i'm really glad that my birthday here was lowkey but filled with really special experiences. i know that heavenly father was watching over me.
i think in telling you about yesterday i mentioned most of the highlights of the week. oh! i learned something cool in the scriptures that i want to share with you. everyone open to mosiah 29. in this part king mosiah is talking about they government. he proposes judges instead of a new king. as he is telling the people how they should decide these things he gives them really great advice. in verse 8 and verse 10 he repeats, "let us be wise" and says, "and consider these things" and "and look forward to these things." it made me think about important decisions in my life and how to go about them. i know that heavenly father will help us know what to do and will guide us through our toughest choices, but he will also require us to use our agency. i know that he won't force us to act without giving us the information that we need. most of that information he has already given us, through past experiences and through knowledge of things that are to come (the plan of salvation). so, if we use this knowledge that he has given us, knowledge that we can prayerfully remember through the holy ghost, we will be prepared to make decisions and do what we should. does that make sense? i think it was more eloquent in my head. i love the book of mormon and the small principles and truths that are hiding between every verse. i know that it's true. i know that i daily see it changing lives, including my own. go read it!
i have four minutes... other wonderful moments this week/transfer...
-sitting on the steps of a recent convert's house in a tiny village reading our mail because we had skipped dinner to get to her house.
-naming a street in chaozhou "the dead beat club" after the b-52's song because at night everyone is sitting outside of their shops talking and doing nothing.
-contacting a girl that said, "i want to hear! i want to know about my father. i'm god's child right?!" and being completely thrown off.
that's all. taiwan is great and not so hot. i think next week i'll start sporting those amazing scarves you sent! i love you all! ! ! ! !
love,
sister jade
Spicy Girls Only... Transfer 6: Week 3
(from a bumper sticker)
mom! i was so so so happy to hear from you! i'm sorry if i sounded like i was putting pressure on you to write. thank you for finding time to do so much for me while i'm away. i got one of the packages you sent (the books and letters). thank you thank you! i love the pilates book and i'm figuring out how exactly to work it into my schedule. i think i'll devote at least half of my dinner hour to a pilates/yoga work-out.
i'm glad california was such fun. things here in chaozhou were great. sister stratford and i ate ice cream and sang ring out wild bells (the creepiest sounding song in the hymn book) to celebrate the season. (dad- i didn't celebrate "hump day" i don't think. maybe i ate something good but nothing more than that.)
i think this transfer is passing more quickly than any of my others have. it freaks me out to think that i'll be done in about seven months (give or take a few weeks). time flies.
we worked really hard this week and did a lot of contacting and a lot of less-active finding. it seems like we didn't have many lessons that i can tell you about, but of course there were great experiences to share...
yesterday we met a less-active member named chen meihui. i don't think i've ever been so worried about a lesson beforehand. on monday we were in her village and stopped by her house. it appeared that no one was home so we left a note. on the ward list that we have a missionary had written in large letters "does not want to give information. do not call!!" we're working on cleaning up the ward list, so we wrote a note asking if we could visit her and saying that if she didn't want us calling she could give us her signature. we figured that if she did have desires to be part of the church, calling would be too much of a hassle and we wouldn't hear from her. monday night we were disappointed to receive a call asking us to come get her signature. the next morning (yesterday), all i could think about was what we could share to get her to change her mind. i don't think any other thoughts crossed my mind while i ran. in companionship study we planned to be respectful and loving and to share a scripture in 3 nephi about christ's arms always being extended towards us. halfway through comp study she called us and invited us to eat lunch with her. we had plans and couldn't commit, but hung up confused about why she was so nice to us. we made our way to her home first thing in the morning. she was really nice. we asked her about why she wanted to remove her name. she said that right now she has no way of going to church because she's sick and her father won't allow her to. she's also embarrassed because her medication has caused her to gain weight. and she has a hard time understanding the book of mormon. she said, "people visit and say heavenly father loves me, but i don't feel that." i started crying. she is so cute and wonderful, just confused. we bore testimony over and over, trying our hardest to help her feel his love. when we asked if we could visit her once a week and help her understand the book of mormon better she said we could! then she started talking about the spirit she felt each time she took the sacrament. we told her we would do our best to bring that spirit to her home and promised that she would notice a change. i am so excited to help her! i'm sure there are more less-active members like her waiting for us to find them. i've decided my favorite part of missionary work is helping others to know that heavenly father loves them. it's the most basic principle of our church, but often the hardest to grasp. it breaks my heart each time i hear someone say that they can't perceive his care for them. i do! and i love it. i love feeling heavenly fathers love for my brothers and sisters out here!
another cool lesson happened when we were contacting in a village a ways out. we had a recent convert lesson that stood us up so we went exploring. we rode past a house set back a bit but both felt like we should turn around. there we met a Vietnamese woman and her mother and father-in-law. we talked to her for a few minutes then she went and got her husband. i don't think i've met a kinder man out here. he listened and took in what we shared. he told us about going to many different churches when he was younger. he was very humble, but somewhat self deprecating. he never went to high school, his work is unstable, he's much older than his wife and he smokes a lot. we taught him the apostasy by drawing a large circle representing the truth of christ's gospel and then smaller circles overlapping parts of the large circle. this represents the churches that emerged during the great apostasy- part of the truth is within them, but it is mixed with man's ideas. he seemed to understand. we testified that change was possible and that heavenly father wants us to know the truth. he looked at the drawing and said, "i feel like this small circle is me. i have some good in me, but a lot of bad. i wish i could be completely within the large circle. i wish i could be good." we testified of the change the atonement could bring. i know he felt the spirit. he looked at us and asked, "i can change?" i felt the holy ghost testify that no matter what we can change. the atonement of the savior is waiting for us. it's the most wonderful gift we can imagine. he gave us his information and we're going to give it to the elders. when he realized that there was hope for him, his eyes sparkled. they changed from the hazy, complacent expression that met us in the beginning to smily and hopeful. it was amazing.
there's not much time left, so i'll share some of brief moments that have made this move wonderful so far...
-realizing sister stratford and i have so much in common: we both went through a period of inactivity. we both have ex-fiances that served in birmingham england. and our favorite things include sufjan stevens, arrested development and lord of the rings trilogy version of risk. (she said, "you can just say 'lord of the rings risk'." i said, "no, this way is better." and now she is converted to saying the entire name.
-last night taking out the trash. we never seem to be home when the trash truck comes, so our living room had piles and piles of garbage and recycling. while making phone calls we heard a garbage truck closer than usual. we started grabbing bags and ran downstairs. after tossing about 6 bags in the back we ran up 5 flights of stairs to grab more. i was in charge of the largest bag. the plastic was breaking so i had to carry it like you would a child. it was gross. we ran down the stairs (the elevator was in high demand) as fast as we could. a woman at the bottom told us we were too late. we ran out to the street and saw the truck driving away. so, we started sprinting. we ran in middle of the street passing all of our neighbors who were taking their trash out. people were laughing at us and shaking their heads. it took us forever to catch up to the moving truck but finally did. i can only imagine what we looked like to them... two american girls in skirts running. one with a bag in her hand by her side, the other hugging an open trash bag full of grossness. classic. i love my mission.
time is up. more next week. i love love love you all. thank you for being my family!
love,
sister jade
mom! i was so so so happy to hear from you! i'm sorry if i sounded like i was putting pressure on you to write. thank you for finding time to do so much for me while i'm away. i got one of the packages you sent (the books and letters). thank you thank you! i love the pilates book and i'm figuring out how exactly to work it into my schedule. i think i'll devote at least half of my dinner hour to a pilates/yoga work-out.
i'm glad california was such fun. things here in chaozhou were great. sister stratford and i ate ice cream and sang ring out wild bells (the creepiest sounding song in the hymn book) to celebrate the season. (dad- i didn't celebrate "hump day" i don't think. maybe i ate something good but nothing more than that.)
i think this transfer is passing more quickly than any of my others have. it freaks me out to think that i'll be done in about seven months (give or take a few weeks). time flies.
we worked really hard this week and did a lot of contacting and a lot of less-active finding. it seems like we didn't have many lessons that i can tell you about, but of course there were great experiences to share...
yesterday we met a less-active member named chen meihui. i don't think i've ever been so worried about a lesson beforehand. on monday we were in her village and stopped by her house. it appeared that no one was home so we left a note. on the ward list that we have a missionary had written in large letters "does not want to give information. do not call!!" we're working on cleaning up the ward list, so we wrote a note asking if we could visit her and saying that if she didn't want us calling she could give us her signature. we figured that if she did have desires to be part of the church, calling would be too much of a hassle and we wouldn't hear from her. monday night we were disappointed to receive a call asking us to come get her signature. the next morning (yesterday), all i could think about was what we could share to get her to change her mind. i don't think any other thoughts crossed my mind while i ran. in companionship study we planned to be respectful and loving and to share a scripture in 3 nephi about christ's arms always being extended towards us. halfway through comp study she called us and invited us to eat lunch with her. we had plans and couldn't commit, but hung up confused about why she was so nice to us. we made our way to her home first thing in the morning. she was really nice. we asked her about why she wanted to remove her name. she said that right now she has no way of going to church because she's sick and her father won't allow her to. she's also embarrassed because her medication has caused her to gain weight. and she has a hard time understanding the book of mormon. she said, "people visit and say heavenly father loves me, but i don't feel that." i started crying. she is so cute and wonderful, just confused. we bore testimony over and over, trying our hardest to help her feel his love. when we asked if we could visit her once a week and help her understand the book of mormon better she said we could! then she started talking about the spirit she felt each time she took the sacrament. we told her we would do our best to bring that spirit to her home and promised that she would notice a change. i am so excited to help her! i'm sure there are more less-active members like her waiting for us to find them. i've decided my favorite part of missionary work is helping others to know that heavenly father loves them. it's the most basic principle of our church, but often the hardest to grasp. it breaks my heart each time i hear someone say that they can't perceive his care for them. i do! and i love it. i love feeling heavenly fathers love for my brothers and sisters out here!
another cool lesson happened when we were contacting in a village a ways out. we had a recent convert lesson that stood us up so we went exploring. we rode past a house set back a bit but both felt like we should turn around. there we met a Vietnamese woman and her mother and father-in-law. we talked to her for a few minutes then she went and got her husband. i don't think i've met a kinder man out here. he listened and took in what we shared. he told us about going to many different churches when he was younger. he was very humble, but somewhat self deprecating. he never went to high school, his work is unstable, he's much older than his wife and he smokes a lot. we taught him the apostasy by drawing a large circle representing the truth of christ's gospel and then smaller circles overlapping parts of the large circle. this represents the churches that emerged during the great apostasy- part of the truth is within them, but it is mixed with man's ideas. he seemed to understand. we testified that change was possible and that heavenly father wants us to know the truth. he looked at the drawing and said, "i feel like this small circle is me. i have some good in me, but a lot of bad. i wish i could be completely within the large circle. i wish i could be good." we testified of the change the atonement could bring. i know he felt the spirit. he looked at us and asked, "i can change?" i felt the holy ghost testify that no matter what we can change. the atonement of the savior is waiting for us. it's the most wonderful gift we can imagine. he gave us his information and we're going to give it to the elders. when he realized that there was hope for him, his eyes sparkled. they changed from the hazy, complacent expression that met us in the beginning to smily and hopeful. it was amazing.
there's not much time left, so i'll share some of brief moments that have made this move wonderful so far...
-realizing sister stratford and i have so much in common: we both went through a period of inactivity. we both have ex-fiances that served in birmingham england. and our favorite things include sufjan stevens, arrested development and lord of the rings trilogy version of risk. (she said, "you can just say 'lord of the rings risk'." i said, "no, this way is better." and now she is converted to saying the entire name.
-last night taking out the trash. we never seem to be home when the trash truck comes, so our living room had piles and piles of garbage and recycling. while making phone calls we heard a garbage truck closer than usual. we started grabbing bags and ran downstairs. after tossing about 6 bags in the back we ran up 5 flights of stairs to grab more. i was in charge of the largest bag. the plastic was breaking so i had to carry it like you would a child. it was gross. we ran down the stairs (the elevator was in high demand) as fast as we could. a woman at the bottom told us we were too late. we ran out to the street and saw the truck driving away. so, we started sprinting. we ran in middle of the street passing all of our neighbors who were taking their trash out. people were laughing at us and shaking their heads. it took us forever to catch up to the moving truck but finally did. i can only imagine what we looked like to them... two american girls in skirts running. one with a bag in her hand by her side, the other hugging an open trash bag full of grossness. classic. i love my mission.
time is up. more next week. i love love love you all. thank you for being my family!
love,
sister jade
Monday, November 3, 2008
Did Mom Die? Transfer 6: Week 2
mom. it has been three weeks since i've heard from you. are you okay? what is going on?! so, two songs going in my head this week... "do they know it's halloween?" (family, i hope you have taken advantage of october and spent the month listening to this.) and one of the tracks on the nightmare before christmas soundtrack. i hope your trip to disneyland is wonderful. please send pictures soon! the only pictures i've seen of the ozawas since i entered the mtc were sent to me by wyatt. chaozhou is interesting. this move is already really different than all of my other transfers. i've already learned a lot and i'm sure i'm going to learn more. sister stratford is wonderful. we have a lot in common, and it's so nice to have conversations in english. this is the first companionship in which i feel everything is truly 50/50, which is really nice. we're both working really hard and i think we'll see success. sister stratford got sick on sunday night so we ended up spending monday morning at the doctor's office. it was an interesting experience. i decided that when i come home and have no friends i'm going to start hanging out at clinics and public health offices. i think there i will be able to meet the most interesting people las vegas and salt lake city have to offer me. after coming home, studying and eating lunch i asked sister stratford how she was feeling and whether the medication they gave her was working. after replying she asked how i was. i said, "fine. i feel great." she said, "i can tell you're discouraged." i didn't know how to explain myself. all i could say at first was, "you can tell?" (her gift of discernment is amazing.) i'm not at all discouraged by the companionship or the city or the branch. this move will be difficult in different ways than usual. i've never had so few investigators and so many less-actives. we only have two progressing investigators and about three others. and we have a seven page list of sisters living in the area; about six and a half pages is inactives. i feel like i left tainan without doing much. i look at chaozhou and know there is a lot to be done, knowing where to start is the problem. it's overwhelming. i really feel that if we work hard to figure out the situations of the many many less-active sisters here, we will be blessed with opportunities to find new investigators. so, sister stratford and i have started working through the list. we are identifying those who have moved, those who are lost, those we don't know, etc. and we're calling all of them systematically then going to the homes of those we can't get a hold of. we only spend a certain amount of time each day doing the paperwork part and phone calls, then the rest of the time (because we don't really have lessons) we spend contacting or looking for less-actives and tracting in their neighborhood. so far, i think we're seeing success. we've been able to contact quite a few sisters that haven't been to church in years, and have set up appointments with some. we've knocked a lot of neighborhoods and contacted a lot of people on the street. we're working on sifting through the phone numbers we've gotten and think some of them will turn out to be pretty good investigators. i've only been here for ten days, but already i'm learning a lot about patience and trusting heavenly father, as well as improving my contacting skills. so, these discouraging spots are proving to be blessings in disguise. i'm grateful. our best investigators are sisters qiu yaping and qiu yaling. they are a little bit crazy, but also really great. i've never met people so receptive to the spirit so quickly. they have strong strong testimonies of prayer and the scriptures. it's so amazing to watch them change in the gospel. yaling had a really cool experience last week that prompted them to set baptismal dates... their parents and grandparents are very against them meeting with us and are very abusive. last week we heard stories about their grandfather throwing them by their hair because he wanted them to leave the room, their grandmother telling their mom to give yaling to someone that wants her when they found out she was a daughter and not a son, their mom locking them out overnight, and their dad yelling and hitting them for little reason. hearing these things through their tears made me so grateful for the loving family that i have, so grateful for the healing power of the atonement, and so grateful for the knowledge of our heavenly father who loves us all the time no matter what. our ward mission coordinator (chen dixiong)'s dad knows yaping and yaling's parents. chen dixiong said that he thinks the only way the sisters will be able to get baptized is if his father (also a member) goes and talks to them. we hadn't told the sisters this yet when yaling came up to us at english class and told us about a dream she had the night prior. in her dream chen dixiong's dad came to their house and talked to her mom and dad about the church. her parents received his visit well. she was really confused by the dream and wanted to know what we thought it meant. when we told her what chen dixiong had said about his dad visiting them she smiled widely and said heavenly father is answering her prayers. i love teaching them. they are always ready for the things we share. the only problem is that they have so many experiences having to do with christ's teachings that we have a hard time teaching more than a few principles each time we see them. on my first friday here we met with guo mingyue (the investigator from pingdong that was baptized a few weeks ago). it was fantastic to see her. she's so cute and adds so much to the branch here. after reviewing the restoration with her, she started talking about how happy she was so see me and how grateful she is to be in chaozhou. she wouldn't quit holding my hand and then said the sweetest prayer thanking heavenly father for reuniting us. every day spent serving the lord feels good, but seeing her and knowing she missed me was beyond good. i love her and i'm so happy that she's still growing in the gospel. before we left, huang jiemei, the member that helped us teach the lesson started sharing the ways mingyue has touched her life and blessed her. we all knew at that time that mingyue is where she needs to be. heavenly father needs her here in chaozhou. on sunday we had district conference, in PINGDONG! i cannot tell you how happy i was to go back and see all of the members i miss so much. rick, the elders investigator from my english class, was baptized a few weeks ago. joelle is active and goes to church every week. lethe is still amazing. i love her so much! i'm sure we'll stay friends. one of the coolest parts of being there was seeing sister jiang. i really worried about how it would be. when i was in tainan i tried to write her and see how she was but the reply she sent was brief and without much information. i worried that seeing her would bring back hard feelings from our tough move together. but, the opposite happened. i was filled with so much love for her. as she told me about the investigators we had been working with and their current situations i knew that they are in good hands. i'm excited to get to see her again at zone conference next week and to be friends! there's more that i could write. next week i'll have to include a list of the crazy moments we've had this move so far. life in taiwan is interesting and good, i don't know how else to explain it. the church is true, zhen de! i love you and miss you,sister jlofrom chaozhou. transfer 6: week 1
i moved. i'm in chaozhou, a bit southeast of pingdong. my new companion is sister stratford. her dad was the president of this mission like 13 years ago or so. she goes to the y. she grew up in shanghai. i don't know what to think of this move. i'm trying not to think to much. she and i always joked about serving together, so when i heard that we'd be companions i was really excited. then i realized that the last move i was really excited about ended up being my worst move. the move i was most worried about, on the other hand, was spectacular. so, i'm worried about being excited. maybe the two will cancel each other out and we'll have a so-so move. actually, i'm sure it will be good. the blessing of agency is that i can decide right? on of the first things sister s said to me was that she feels like we'll be together for two moves. we'll see. things will be good. i look forward to it all. my last few days in tainan were great. as moves approached and all predictions pointed towards me leaving i didn't feel that sad, which made me sad. i didn't feel very attached to the area. after getting the call that said i'd be headed south again, i started to realize that there are people i would miss. then, bearing my testimony in my final sacrament meeting, i realized i really do love tainan, a lot. i think that's one of the best feelings. loving. of course, it's great to be loved, but to be able to love is a bigger blessing. missionaries are so lucky. we get to love so many people. and we get to feel heavenly father's love for his children all the time! it's SO cool!! the investigators left in tainan all seem to be doing well. they are all in their own place, moving at their own speed, but moving. on friday we set a date with fuxian! i was so excited. she's wonderful and she's getting baptized. the date is pretty far off (december), but i think she'll pull through. if she puts in effort, and the missionaries teaching her continue to work prayerfully, nothing is too great to get in the way of her baptism. we visited her on saturday to say goodbye. she took some pictures and recorded a video on her phone that she said she'd email to mom. word on the street as to my release date... elder richter somehow knows tons of inside information about everything. president hsu and sister hsu are released about two weeks after i'm supposed to head home. to make sure that things aren't too crazy and hectic they are talking about moving my group up and sending us home four weeks early. they'll also move the group above me back two weeks and we'll all go home together around june 1. this is not confirmed, just hearsay. in considering heading home that soon i have mixed feelings. part of me filled with joy, knowing that seeing my cute sisters isn't too far away. part of me feels like i'll miss out on the whole mission experience, i'll love four weeks to teach and meet people and use chinese. part of me wonders if i'll be ready to leave. part of me thinks i'll be ready. but, that's still far away, so there's not much use thinking about it. dad, i think before you buy plane tickets you should get in contact with president hsu. it would be such a waste to buy tickets and then have to get them refunded. also, i have not yet seen any creches. OH! I almost forgot! LAUREN HOLLEY ANDERSON is pregnant! i about died when i found out. sister fan and i came home from a district meeting or something and there was one letter. i love love love looking my name on an envelope and knowing who wrote it. as soon as i read "sister jade lani ozawa" i said, "my best friend, lauren. i'm waiting for the letter that says she's pregnant." i opened the letter. first sentence- "i'm pregnant!" weird! but so cool! she is going to be the best mom and she is going to have the most beautiful family. i'm sad that i won't get to see the first child birthed by one of me close friends, but i'm so happy for lauren and dave! yeah!! i'm not sure what else to write about. last week was kind of boring in tainan, nothing too crazy happened. the craziest thing was a girl and her coworker that came to the church. sister fan and i were in a lesson, so the elders sat down with them (allowed because the co-worker was a man). as soon as we came out of our classroom, the elders called us over and told us they needed us to talk to the girl. we were confused, but sat down. it turns out she was reading a book that mentioned the protagonist going to church and finding peace in the chapel. then she watched a movie that mentioned church. so, she decided that she would try to see if our church could help her with "her problem". she said she had some questions so we set up another appointment. she asked if we wanted to hear the questions now or at the appointment that we set. to help us prepare we said she could tell us then. her problem- she has a coworker that has always been interested in her. she in not interested and has told him that they are just friends. he moved on kind of and got married. but now he won't leave her alone and always tells her he can't forget her. pretty much he wants to have an affair with her. she asked us to tell her what to do. i was so thrown off. sister fan and i looked at each other, waiting for the other to say something. all i could think about was a line in preach my gospel that says nothing we do or say can help those we teach more than the gospel of jesus christ. i know that is true. so, we started talking about prayer. she asked, "i can just pray and god will change my coworker?" so we explained agency and tried to help her see that we can't solve her problems for her, but she can through heavenly father. i'm not sure what will happen, and whether or not she'll keep meeting with sister fan. but i think a lot of people have an interesting view of religion. many people here look at belief in god as a crutch, others see religion as a tradition and nothing more, a lot only turn to it when they are desperate for help of sorts. i love that the gospel of jesus christ is more than any of that. i've recently thought about how it's a roadmap. we know what we need to do to receive exaltation. we are given a simple path, the hardest part is staying on it. when we tell investigators christ's teachings can change their lives, i wonder what they think. i assume some expect a marvelous "flip of a switch" type change. usually it doesn't happen like that, but i know that following christ's teachings does change that around us by helping us know what to do. i love thinking about the change that my life has gone through and then being able to testify that i am a different person because of the savior. next week's email will be full of details about chaozhou. i'm excited to get to know this place. OH! guess what?!? do you remember guo jiemei, the investigator in pingdong. her husband opposed but she wanted to keep working towards baptism... she's actually a chaozhou member. and she got baptized on saturday!! i'm so happy that i'll get to see her. we'll meet with her on friday! wonderful! i love you all and look forward to next weeks emails. love,sister jade
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