this week has gone by fast and has had amazing happenings. i'll work in
chronology for you...
wednesday night a crazy thing happened. i was surprised and happy about my
reaction. there is a woman named melee in our english class. she's very smart
and very well versed in philosophy, but a little off. she asked for private
english help and always gives me essays and emails she has written to proofread
(i really like it. maybe i have a future in the marriott library writing
center?). we told her we can help her if we can also share the gospel. we met
with her for the second time last week and it was kind of weird. the feeling in
the room was not good and she disputed a lot. on wednesday when she came to
english class she asked to set up another time, which we did, then i gave her
some ensign articles in english to read. then! she pulled sister jiang aside. i
didn't know what was going on because english class was starting and i was
talking to our other students. when i peaked my head out of the room i saw
sister jiang crying and melee in her face. melee was chewing her out and saying
things like that she feels closer to god when i speak and further from him when
sister jiang speaks. (over the top, right?) she wouldn't let up. about 7 minutes
into class she finally left. sister jiang and i went to the bathroom and i tried
to comfort her to no avail. i ended up teaching the majority of the class by
myself and she sat outside the door. yesterday we met with melee again. we were
set to tell her that we cannot give her private lessons and can only meet with
her to dicuss the gospel. when she started to talk with us the whole atmosphere
was different than the previous times. we didn't alk about english at all, just
about the gospel of jesus christ in english. she seemed like a different person.
her questions were inquisitive, not antagonistic. and she listened to sister
jiang and responded well. in the end when i asked her about what she thought of
the restoration pamphlet i gave her she said she wanted to know if it was true.
we invited her to pray, to read the book of mormon and to come to church. she
said yes to all three! when i said the closing prayer she said she felt
"illumination". we taught her that she was feeling the holy ghost. i hope she's
changing!
on wednesday night at 10:25pm we got a call from president hsu. i was terrified.
i love that man, but sometimes he frightens me. he told us to cancel all of our
plans from thursday afternoon to saturday afternoon and to pack bags with two
days worth of stuff. we were so confused. in the morning we learned more. in the
afternoon they picked us up and took us to kaohsiung to work on planning for the
three youth conferences we would help with the next two days. it felt like
student council all over. i loved it. sister juang (my second companion) and
sister o'rourke (in the mtc with me) were there. sister jiang and i were the
only field missionaries to be invited besides them. it was so cool to work with
the office elders and the assistants. they are all spectacular. after planning
and preparation from about 4 to 10 we went to the hsu's to stay the night. in
the morning we got up and headed to tainan. we ran activities for about 100 kids
for a couple of hours. the rotation we planned included: efy dancing (sister
o'rourke used to be a counselor), a missionary relay race and "the iron rod".
sister jiang and i worked the iron rod as tempters (or temptresses if you will).
a rope (the rod) was set up through a patch of trees, it ended at a big tree
onto which we tied white envelopes with every youth's name on the outside and a
message on the inside about god's love. the kids were blindfolded and put on the
rod and told to follow it. we distracted them and tried to get them to leave by
telling them they were wrong or asking for their help. if they left the rod they
were set aside and told to wait. a bishop then came and talked to them and
invited them back to continue on the path. some were tempted off more than once,
some never. in the end it was related to real life and the temptations we face,
some seeming harmless. it was cool and the kids seemed to gain from it. the best
part-our miracle. during the third and final group it started raining pretty
hard. we didn't know what to do, so we all prayed. daogao hen you yong! prayer
is so useful!! the clouds parted and the sun was out just long enough for us to
finish the activity and pack up. as soon as we started driving away it started
pouring. amazing!
from tainan we headed to hengchun about 3.5 hours away. the drive was amazing
and green. i don't think i've ever seen scenery so beautiful. we drove right
next to the ocean and could smell it in the car. we went to a resort that
reminded me of park city. here we had less kids and more activities. these were
simpler and all had to do with mission prep. sister jiang and i helped with the
dancing. at first it felt so wrong to be listening to pop music and worse to be
moving. by the end it was just fun and the kids loved it! after about and hour
and a half president did a share with all of us missionaries and the other rms
in the room. the kids liked it i hope. the point was to help them desire to
serve. they are the future of missionary work here and in china! after the
conference we headed to the bed and breakfast where we stayed. POSH! it was so
nice. and it felt amazing to sleep in a queen sized bed, but weird at the same
time. we got up early in the morning and drove to a camping place called baoli.
our branches and chaozhou were at baoli. trista, our golden was there! we did
the same activities as in tainan. it was so cool to be helping kids i know and
love. trista liked it a lot. we worried that she wouldn't understand the rod
because we have never read it with her. when we talked to her about it that
night she said, "just like lehi's dream!" she's SO GOOD!!
saturday night when we got home we had an amazing lesson with a street contact.
i think she's going to be good. we'll see. then we had bonus and torren's
baptisms! it was so great. they both started being taught by the elders my first
move here, so i've watched them the whole way. at their baptism i learned that
our english student, rick, is also getting baptized. i feel like i've helped him
some. he's amazing and is going to be a stellar member.
saturday night we got some bad news that shaped our sunday. xu en yu, our
less-active that i love and try desperately to help, attempted suicide and was
in the hospital. we went to visit her on sunday with the relief society
president. she's not doing well. the conditions in the hospital are not good. we
went to see her again on tuesday and took her treats and one of the christ
editions of the liahona that grandma ireva sent (thank you!). she was worse and
said things were getting "complicated" there. she's surrounded by people with
really serious problems. she has problems too, but different. we testified of
the savior and tried to help her to know to rely on him. i don't know what else
we can do for her. watching the door close in her face as we left broke my
heart. i can't wait to go back and do what i can for her. being there and seeing
the people she's surrounded by really made me want to be a psychologist. i think
heavenly father might want that too, we'll see.
yesterday we met with trista, the golden investigator. they really do exist! i
can testify of golden investigators! we had a lesson planned on the holy ghost
because she said she still hasn't received answers to her prayers. during the
lesson we asked what she thought and she said she knows joseph smith was a
prophet!! so we asked her if she was willing to be baptized when she knew more.
she already talked to her older sister (her guardian) about it!!! what! she's
amazing!!! her sister said she has to wait 2 years, until she's 18. she said
that she prayed and told heavenly father she would wait until that time, but
follow christ until then. then she asked if she could still come to church even
if she wasn't baptized. of course!! i love her so much. i'm so happy for her.
she said she's never been happier. so good!
if you all can't tell, life in taiwan continues to be wonderful. it's hard
sometimes, but the good makes up for it. i received a great letter from monica,
my new member in kaohsiung today. she said that kaohsiung is rainy, but she's
warm in her heart because she has christ and heavenly father! she also said that
her favorite hymn is "there is sunshine in my soul today". i wish i could see
her in sacrament meeting. hearing about her testimony makes me SO happy! i love
her and i'm sure i always will. it sounds like everyone is different.
i love you all and miss you!! stay good.
love,
sister jade.
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