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 jlo

from 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

We Must Play Transfer 5: Week 5

this move is almost over! what in the world? last week i was complaining about how slow time is moving and now it's gone. i think learning how to cope with the passage of time is one of the great challenges of life. at times it seems to move at an inch an hour, then suddenly miles upon miles have passed you by and you're left to ponder what has happened. thank goodness for pondering right? and the atonement! repenting for mistakes and wasted time.

yesterday i received a letter with one of my favorite c.s. lewis quotes. i had read a shorted version of it before, but never the longer version that was sent to me. can i just say- c.s. lewis is the man. i love him. my goal is to become his best friend in the spirit world. the quote sent to me is about our potential to become gods, something i love to ponder, and also about our relationships with others. right in the middle it talks about not being somber as we consider our divine destinies. c.s. says in a simple sentence, "we must play." i love that. i need to tell myself that more. once kyle said that i used to be stiff and uptight. (the pot calling the kettle black?) i think that sometimes i am. like dad and lin jiemei said, when i talk about things on my mind my brows wrinkle and i get an intense, serious expression on my face. there is no time for such things! our life is short, miles pass us by right? we need to be smiling the whole time. what reason do we have to not smile, when we consider that we are children of a divine heritage!?! so, this week i'm going to work hard. but i'm also going to play! i look forward to it.

i feel like last week's email was very unspiritual and probably a disappointment to some readers. (dad, i'm glad you found enjoyment in it. i'll fill e. richter in.) fortunately, this letter will somewhat redeem last week's. this week has had high point after high point it seems. the pinnacle was last night. i can't wait to share...

our investigators, for the most part, are doing so well. they are my little garden, and they are blossoming! it's wonderful.

we're kind of worried about chen ci rong. she has an eight year old daughter and a boyfriend that lives with her. when i consider teaching her the law of chastity i feel myself becoming flushed and awkward. (i'm going to be such a little weirdo when i come home.) she has a baptismal date that she set herself. she came to a lesson a few weeks ago and before we could extend an invitation she announced that she didn't want to keep standing outside of the church thinking it's beautiful. she wants to come inside and be part of it. she said she has faith that she can be baptized without perfect knowledge and then grow within the walls of the church. how cool is that? this week she told us that she wants her boyfriend to here the lessons. yesterday we planned to share with her about enduring to the end and some commandments, but last minute decided to watch a video from the 80's called, together forever. i am so glad we did! it's about the gospel strengthening our families and the miracle of eternal families. after watching she told us she wants her boyfriend to see it. temple marriage anyone!?! i think this will be good. he already wants to be married, she thinks they need to wait until the economy is better. i'm sure it will all work out and ci rong will be baptized in november as scheduled.

you fu xian, the girl we met a couple of p-days ago is so good! so good! she's going to get baptized. i can feel it. when we met with her yesterday she told us she wants to bring some of her friends to church. she also asked a question about polygamy. living in utah makes me an expert (or so my companion assumed), so i answered and cleared thing up. after discussing and assuring her that polygamists are not members of our church she said, "i've never doubted this church." what faith! she's great! she's a miracle!

on monday night we had an amazing lesson with weng yi ling, our baptismal date that moved here from jiayi. we talked about repentance and focused on scriptures. from the beginning to the end it was wonderful. yi ling is really quiet and hard to feel close to, but as soon as we ask her about what part of the book of mormon she read the week prior she becomes another person. she describes her feelings and gets excited and smiles and smiles. she recently read parts of 3 nephi, we had a great discussion on christ's teaching and then dove into repentance. i love testifying and KNOWING the things we say are true. as we taught i realized the importance of guilt. i hate guilt and sorrow, sometimes it's excruciating. but, those feelings give us a little glimpse of what christ felt for us. consider the guilt i have felt in my life, and then multiplying it by billions makes me so grateful for the savior. no one will ever be as great as he is. and no one will ever be more important in my life.

last night's lesson with jenny, another baptismal date was very similar. i'm not sure whether i've mentioned before the disappointment of being a missionary. i think i have. pre-mission i envisioned a little voice behind my right ear, constantly guiding and directing me, telling me what to say and how to say it. things in taiwan have not been so. as missionaries we have to have faith that our thoughts are, in fact, from divine sources and move forward based on them. a lot of the time we are left wondering, was that me or the holy ghost? i testify that last night it was the holy ghost! it's spectacular to be able to say that. jenny's parents oppose her baptism and jenny's faith, at this time, doesn't seem to be enough to overcome that. i believe that if she really had desire to be baptized, it would happen. we've taught her every principle in preach my gospel and are at the point where we are banging our heads against the wall trying to strengthen her faith. our district leader, bless him, suggested that we read scriptures with her. so, last night we all sat down with our books opened to 2 nephi 4. go read it now! the psalm of nephi is my favorite part of the book of mormon! the scriptures seemed to open up before our eyes. as we discussed the trials nephi went through and his faith i thought of something, or more accurately, the spirit pointed something out to me... so, lehi and his family pick up and leave jerusalem without question. at that point (early in 1 nephi), they have no promise of a prepared land. all they know is that the lord has said to leave their comfortable home and their happy lives and their convenient riches, so they do it. when they are in the wilderness, travelling with little aim beside following the will of the lord, laman and lemuel want to return home. but do you think their home would be the same? would it be there? probably not. someone else has moved in, their possessions are gone. converts in taiwan frequently have to "leave jerusalem". maybe their parents oppose their conversion, or their friends like to drink and disown them. after they've started wandering in the wilderness they can't really return to their "jerusalem", their homes are gone. fortunately, we know that there is a prepared land ahead of us, called the celestial kingdom. but still, travelling in "the wilderness" can be scary and lonely and we don't necessarily know what is ahead. investigators and converts have to step forward with faith, trusting in god and the savior. i imagine there are many times that they feel they are stepping into darkness. but i know that christ will be their light. he may not be like the luxor ray, allowing them to see from where they are to the end of the road, but he will light what is ahead of them and lead them slowly to salvation. i love the hymn lead kindly light. i'm not sure the english lyrics, but in chinese it says essentially, "one step, one step." christ will guide us and help us make those steps. and he will never ever leave us alone. i pray that jenny will do what it takes to leave jerusalem, trusting that heavenly father will lead her safely to a promised land!

during the lesson we testified that god is still a god of miracles and that we as missionaries see miracles every day. jenny asked, "what miracles have you seen on your mission?" at that point i realized i need to be better documenting our daily miracles! or mission is doing this cool thing where once a week we get a page of four or five miracles seen which the mission boundaries. we are blessed every day!! i love it.

time is almost up, so i'll tell you a few short, interesting things, then bid adieu...
-the other day we were riding through the city and out of nowhere see a cow and an empty lot. i've gotten better at controlling my mouth, but at that point i couldn't and exclaimed. "what in the world?!?!" several motorists turned and stared in my direction.
-the next day, in front of a store, i say the biggest pig i've ever seen in my life. seriously, it was like three of me!
-if you ask a taiwanese woman how long their gestation is they will say 10 months.
-my new favorite piece of clothing is the pair of basketball shorts handed down to me by sister blackham. i regret not having a brother to introduce me to this level of comfort earlier. i will never wear jeans again!
-on sunday we came out of our apartment to find a man sleeping with no pants in front of our building. we determined to hand him to the elders as a referral, but forgot by the time we got to church.
-ruth may fox is my new hero! she took a bit out of her grandmother's china! how cool is that?!
-look up "five small experiences" from the february 2004 ensign. 2004 was a good year for the church magazines!!

time is up! i love you and miss you all!!

love,
sister jade!