Called To Serve

All Good Things Come To An End

2009-06-14T13:12:00.002-07:00

Dear known readers and Jade blog stalkers,

This is the end of our journey together. It has been a pleasure the past 18 months. Jade returns honorably from her mission in Kaohsiung tomorrow, Monday June 15th. Please be jealous because my flight to Vegas is in a few hours and I get to see her step off the plane! I am sure there will be a hiatus for a week or two but she will most likely resume her blog which you can get to here.

Thanks for being important in her life and for supporting her throughout her mission. She has such wonderful friends and family.

All My Love,

Mandi Scandal.

crazy is right! wasei! transfer 11: week 3 the last

2009-06-14T13:12:00.001-07:00

had so many things to say, now i can't remember what. plus it seems
silly to say too much, i can just tell you with my own mouth, in
chin-glish, with dramatic hand motions as we pull away from the
airport on MONDAY. i cannot believe how quickly time has flown by. i
still feel like i just stepped onto taiwan. at the same time, though,
i feel older, wiser, calmer and a bit more scatterbrained. i know that
i've changed and i love that. it's so cool how when you speak by the
spirit you can open your mouth and words flow out. i have learned a
lot by listening to myself. oh no! that sounds prideful. i don't mean
that i'm wise and learn by my own thoughts. i mean that i learn from
the spirit that is present as missionaries speak. on friday i attended
my last zone conference (it was special and weird. the last zone
conference president hsu will attend and the last zone conference of
the kaohsiung mission because on july 1 this becomes taichung.). i
learned a lot and realized a lot as i shared my final testimony. i
heard myself say, "i'm a new person. sometimes i don't recognize
myself, and i love that." i know that i've changed a ton, but i'm
grateful to know that i'm still the jade i was before this life and
the jade i will be after. i'm still an ozawa, a daughter of keith and
janelle. i'm flattered, mom, by the list of things you said i am in
your email this week. i hope i can still be all of that when i get
home. i'm sure i can. hooray!

lately i feel like saying hooray all the time! life is really great right now.

sister zhong is spectacular. i love her very very very much. i've been
blessed to have companions that have come some of my greatest friends.
(i'm also blessed to have amazing friends on the american continent. i
really feel unworthy of all of the love i've received as a
missionary.) lately we've seen many little miracles and many little
experience that leave us giggling (e.g. last night tracting, every
person that opened a door seemed to be an old man, most were wearing
nothing but boxers). one of the greatest miracles is the sun family.
i've spent a lot of my time in taiwan tracting, only once have i found
an investigator through it. only a handful of times have i been
invited in. the investigator/investigators is/are a wonderful family
that we tracted into the the first friday of this move. a mom and two
kids (jeffrey-10, janice-8). they live with the dad's dad. they are
beautiful! the kids are smart and polite. they listened intently the
first time we shared with them. last week when we went back, the kids
were on their way out to go spend the night at their grandma's. we met
with the mom. she broke down within the first five minutes and opened
up to us. she seems really tough, and we learned why. two years ago
her husband drowned. he was on the phone with her when he fell. now
she's a single mom. all of her family lives in indonesia, so she's
pretty lonely. she has tried to find comfort in buddhist teachings,
but doesn't seem to feel any peace. i know that all that we've shared
with her (and will continue to share) will bless their family. i love
how much people trust missionaries. they tell us a lot. i am so happy
about this family. on sunday they will come to church. i know that the
support network there will help sun taitai (the mom). she's really
great. i love her. and her kids.

time is almost up. i have so much more that i could say, but it will wait.
i love you all. i miss you. i'm excited to see you again. you are all
wonderful, marvelous, spectacular.

love,
sister jade o.

No title. Written May 24

2009-06-14T13:11:00.001-07:00

i am certain that all within reading distance are eager to know my
fate for the next three weeks. there is a chinese idiom that says that
says "fallen leaves return to the root of the tree" it means that when
you become old you have a desire to return to your home, to where you
came from. well, i'm back in gaoxiong second ward! the place of my
birth. yesterday was filled with tears, but i'm more and more excited
to be here. i think that leaving jiayi was good/will be good for
several reasons. i think it was getting to the point where i was too
close with a lot of the members. i used to make them laugh by telling
them that i was a "professional" missionary. mostly i was trying to
remind myself of that. also, i was ready for change. i think i was
starting to take things for granted. not much in the city was fresh to
me. parting with jiayi, i think kind of prepped me for parting with
formosa. shebude! my new companion is taiwanese (perfect! a last kick
to my chinese). her name is sister zhong peishan. she is awesome.
seriously, she's so good. i love her already. i'm sure that we'll see
lots and lots of miracles. a lot has changed here since i left (a year
ago) but a lot is the same. i'm so excited to see some of my recent
converts and less-active members. i'm not sure whether or not you'll
remember names, but... jiazheng is still active but is in the
neighboring ward not. monica moved to germany : (. qiu jiemei is an
active primary teacher and hong jiemei is in the relief society
presidency. here there are currently 3 baptismal dates and some other
great investigators. and, there is still the teaching english at the
police station service activity! yes, i am happy to be here. i'm not
sure if this is my home or jiayi. maybe just taiwan as a whole is.

so, last move was full of miracles. i wish things had been more
balanced. i wish we had done more. but, in the end i think it was a
good move. the jiayi sisters are now preparing 4 investigators for
baptism!! FOUR. horray. and they're solid, not wishy-washy. i shall
tell you about them.
chen huirong finally set a date july 4th. yes. we will all celebrate
her baptism with hot dogs and fireworks. she is spectacular and is
already a better member than i've ever been. i am so blessed to have
been able to watch her change in the gospel. she is so much more
confident and at peace than she used to be. she even makes jokes based
on the bible. last night we ate dinner at karen's house. huirong got
kind of lost. she was actually across the street from the house but
somehow couldn't find it. when we got there she jokingly said, "i
can't believe i got lost. maybe it means i shouldn't come. i'm judah
coming to your last supper." what? who says that? what chinese person
jokes like that? and what investigator knows the scriptures that well?
she's so rad.
chen yulan set a date on

computer trouble sorry/

"i like them asian girls. and i like ozawa girls." transfer 10: week 7

2009-05-19T21:02:00.001-07:00

i cannot believe it is already the last week of this transfer. it has
gone by so fast! on friday we'll find out if one of us will move. i
feel like it is totally up in the air. it would make sense for me to
stay here, but hsu huizhang always does crazy things. on monday you'll
know (remember to email me before sunday!!!!).

i have so much to report. two weeks worth. the date is for sure the
15th of june. kuai dao le!!! will my homecoming talk be on the 21st?
i'm assuming yes. let me know.

first let me say that it was amazing to hear your voices. you all
sound almost the same. chloe's is deeper (manlier?), phoebe and naomi
sound a lot older, but you are all still you! i'm grateful for that. i
love ozawas.

so the last two preparation days have been filled with excitement.
last last p-day an english student took us out to "a surprise
location" which turned out to be the local distillery. yes. we toured
the distillery and learned about the history of alcohol in taiwan. it
was pretty interesting. we saw lots and lots of expensive spirits. she
also took us to this guys house who collects art and antiques. it was
kind of strange. a special day to say the least.
last p-day we went to the southern tip of taiwan. (we woke up at 4 to
get there!!!) the aquariium was super cool. one of my favorite parts
was the squid ink flavored ice cream. apparantly it's really popular
in japan. that's probably why i liked it so much.
speaking of culinary delights... last week su jiemei, a member that i
love, took us out to eat. she knows that i'm willing and eager to try
anything, so we ate... frog, soft shelled turtle (including the
kidney, shell, liver and penis), whole bird (she gave me the head),
and pig spleen and kidney. it was all so good! my companion, who
doesn't eat meat, was a good sport and tried a bit of each. she thinks
i'm nuts. this week we're going to find snake soup and go to a place
that serves live shrimp! i cannot wait.
speaking of people i love... there are so many great people here in
jiayi. we are seeing miracles!
my new friend is named terry. he's in fourth grade and talks to me at
the track we run at daily. today he ran with me for half of the time.
we discussed languages of the world and my improving feelings towards
running. his english is amazing and he's really funny.
as of now we have two baptismal dates, and plan to have two more by
the end of this week!!
-yu peizhen is back! and getting baptized in august. she's going to
have to find a new job and a new house, but she's willing to. we
hadn't met with her for a while, but found out in our lesson last
monday that she's been keeping the law of chastity since we taught it
to her in february! amazing. she's good. i love her.
-zhuang wanting. she's new and great. she reads the book of mormon
like a maniac and will get baptized on june 19, her birthday.
-chen huirong is still spectacular. on friday we invited her to start
the book of mormon from the beginning, by tuesday she had read through
2 nephi! she is always quoting scripture and strengthening our
struggling members. she has changed so much. when we told her she said
that she could feel the confidence heavenly father and christ have
given her. she is a living testimony that "in the strength of the
lord" we can do anything. she used to be so shy and unsure of herself,
now she makes friends on her own at the church. she's praying about a
date. she has mentioned mid-june. maybe the same day as wanting!
-chen yulan. also new. also amazing. on sunday she wasn't able to come
to church but called us to say that she's so grateful that we've
introduced her to the book of mormon. we hope to set a date with her
tomorrow.

-hong yunling is still good. did i tell you about her mom said that
she needs to wait until she graduates from college before she can get
baptized? that's in two years! we're still working on this.
-zhai jiemei is another new one we love. she's actually a taichung
investigator and is getting baptized there this week. but she is in
jiayi every weekend, so she comes to church here and brings her neice
and son and daughter. we're going to start teaching her neice! i'm
excited!
-chen yihua is one we're struggling with. we love her and want to help
her, but she's terrified of everything. she's scared to come to any
activity. she's always questioning herself. we're focusing on LOVE
with her. LOVE is becoming the focus of my mission and the focus of my
life. i know that it's the most powerful principle in this work and in
the work of god. look at what his love has done to me! LOVE. it's all
about LOVE.

time is almost up. i still have so much more.
i know that the temple is the house of god. i can't wait to get myself
back into one!
i know that joseph smith restored christ church. it's true!
i know that keeping a journal helps us to recognize blessings.
i know that god's hand is in our lives daily, we choose to see it or not.
i know that keeping the sabbath day holy is super important.
i know the book of mormon brings about conversion. look at our amazing
investigators. they are progressing because of that book. it's true!
i know the gospel brings peace. i feel it.

i love you all. i miss you!

love,
sister jade!

Transfer 10: Week 4

2009-05-03T13:54:00.001-07:00

i feel like my emails have been lacking lately. i'm sorry. my mind is
really scattered these days and i struggle to get it all out. my
letters, too, have gone downhill. consider this a blanket apology to
anyone disappointed by what they receive in the mail.

i'm happy that everyone in las vegas sounds happy. lauren- did the job
at body shop work out? just the other day my companion and i passed
one in the mall. i used the olive body butter. next time i see one i
will think of you, beloved sister. chloe- efy? are you serious? do
it!! cuba might be a counselor. you might see him. i will be honest in
admitting that i thoroughly enjoyed my efy experiences. phoebe and
naomi- your letters get shorter and shorter, but i'm glad to get them.

this week hasn't had too many exciting things happen...
last thursday was zone conference! it was a good one. every share
seemed to be directed to me in some way or another. sister hsu talked
about journal writing and shared some of the things she wrote when she
served here years ago. the aps did a share in which we received taught
each other as missionaries, focusing on receiving revelation as to
what to share. we watched clips from the joseph smith movie. i'm not
sure if i mentioned it last year, we watched it my second move in a
zone conference. it was cool to be able to notice a difference in my
testimony this time. did i ever tell you about the first time i saw
that movie? kyle asked me what my favorite part was. i said the
bagpipes. oh how things have changed.

some of our investigators are doing incredibly well.
-hong yunling no longer has a baptismal date because her mom wants her
to wait until she graduates from college. that's in two years! we
shared with her the blessings of the gift of the holy ghost and she
said she wants it. what ideas to you have, as parents, to overcome
this.
-chen huirong is probably our strongest at this time. i met her back
with sister hornberger. we had a great lesson then she stood us up
each time we rescheduled. she sounded really great on the phone, so we
kept calling. the first week of this transfer she finally came. it
seems like she hasn't left the church since. she comes to everything
including institute. last night she talked about the peace and
happiness she feels in the church.
-chen lin shujun has been an investigator for a while. each time we
try to drop her she starts progressing. yesterday we had a really
powerful lesson.
-luo yuchun is dead for real this time. i think. it makes me sad. she
has so much potential but doubts herself and her worth. watching her
has taught me how important it is for an individual to know that they
are loved and to know that they can change and that heavenly father
will help them make that change. she never let herself grasp that.
-a less active huang jiahua took us to visit her sister in the
hospital. she has breast cancer and is near the end. this time she was
a lot more optimistic and happy than last time i saw her. we're trying
to figure out what part of the gospel we should share with her to help
her to feel peace and to want to learn more. i'll let you know next
week what we decide.

i don't know what else to say beside that the church is true. i love
you all! may 10th is close! i'm sure your voices haven't changed much.
mine has a little. i say certain english words so weird. sister p
laughs. you probably will too.

love all around!
sister jade

mgh Transfer 10: Week 3

2009-05-03T13:53:00.001-07:00

chloe- i fail. i fail you. i'm sorry. oh no! this is a problem. i
cannot name the song. i know i know it, but i cannot find it in my
mind. it's lost behind the motab hits that i've grown accustomed to.
i'm sorry, so sorry.

family! you all sound so good. everyone has exciting things happening!
lauren and chloe met fall out boy! phoebe still likes me. naomi is
toothless. mom and dad are still kicking it! i miss you all, but i'm
glad to be updated.

taiwan is getting hot and humid. lately it feels like we're biking
through the world's largest sauna. today is a bit cooler, with a light
rain. i like it.
this week has had ups and downs. luckily, the ups are all tied to what
matters most right now- missionary work! and the downs, for the
most-part, will work themselves out in one way or another. i'm glad
that life is in the hands of one who's abilities far far far exceed my
own.

last week elder bednar came for our mission conference. the rules we
were told before the conference were so strict. i was not excited. i
mean, i was excited, but kept thinking we can have fun and be happy
and laugh and still be latter-day saints. then he came and was
wonderful and funny and cool and i felt horrible for judging an
apostle of the lord. who do i think i am? he didn't prepare any type
of talk, he just read a few verses of scripture with us and we
discussed it, then he answered any questions we had. it was so cool! i
learned so much from him. my favorite thing that i learned/observed
was the fact that the gospel is so much a part of him. everything he
said was evidence that his life is lived serving the lord. he has made
the principles and doctrines of the gospel who he is. i love that. i
want that. as he talked to us he repeated several times three things
that we must do to be successful. i think that this are the things he
has focused on to become who he is. -be obedient -do your work -keep
the covenants you have made. these things are so simple! they are
exactly what we need to do (as missionaries and members). i know that
every mission rule and every commandment is given for our good. if we
keep them we will be happy and safe and we'll have he holy ghost's
companionship. our work as members is simple: be disciples of christ,
invite other to him through our words and actions, strengthen our
families. i guess they sound complicated and doing them can be tough.
but if we keep an eye constant to his glory and our own
salvation/exaltation, we can do it. keeping covenants is obvious.
baptismal covenants, temple covenants. they give us power! he also
talked a lot about prayer. it was his answer to tons of questions. i
love the simplicity of it. it's true that we should turn to our
heavenly father first.

oh no time is short. i want to tell you about all of our investigators
but can't. we have some really great new ones. yesterday we found a
golden family! mandi and ben sent a play cell phone in the v-day
package they made. i made a goal to find a family with a child we can
give it to. yesterday we met with them for the first time! on sunday
they'll be at church!

oh i have to really quick tell you about a thing that happened.
yesterday morning i was feeling kind of sad and friendless. i have
friends, i know that, but things change, people change. i flipped open
a 1996 liahona that i found. right in front of me was a picture of
bjorg and olaffur from the icelandic branch!! it was an article about
their son binni, he was on a mission when i was there! it was weird,
but felt comforted and like part of my family was in taiwan! i miss
iceland.

time is up.
i love you all.
next week!
muah!

love,
s. jade o.

Happy. Transfer 10: Week 2

2009-05-03T13:51:00.000-07:00

this move is happy so far! it's so much better to be happy than not. i
love sister pickering's example of that. she's never not happy. it
made me laugh when she told me her first thought when she was told
that we'd serve together was, "cool. she's a happy missionary." she
also once said that she can't picture me getting mad. funny huh? we
still have 5.5 weeks ahead. we'll see... (this move is a seven week
transfer. i'm not sure why.) other happy things of late- tomorrow
elder bednar is doing our mission conference. i'll get to see sister
stratford, elder chen and an apostle of the lord, all in the same
day!!

ether 6. because i will not let another week pass without telling you
why i love this chapter so much.
ok, so the brother of jared and his family/friends are embarking on
their journey. christ has just touched the stones that the brother of
jared has gathered and they are set to go. verse 3 sets the symbolism
that i found throughout the next part. christ has given us his gospel,
light. it will always be with us, helping us through our life "across
the great waters". but why were the stones able to shine? because of
the brother of jared's faith, obedience and humility. when we move
forward in the gospel with faith, it will light the way undoubtably. i
know this. as they head on their way (verse 4) the group "commends
themselves unto the lord." i see them climbing on the ship saying, "we
don't know where we're going: we don't know exactly how we'll get
there. but, god, we trust you. we will give you our lives and do as
you ask us to." i rarely have this attitude, which is so wrong on my
part. this week i'm working on developing this type of faith and
humility, being able to turn it all completely over to the lord. in
verses 5 through 7 trials come. the barges are tossed all over the
place. i'm sure that it was frightening, and difficult. at the
beginning of verse 5 we see that trials come from the lord, they are
given to us. he caused the winds to blow. in verse seven we see the
best response- they pray, they cry unto him and they are, therefore,
brought to the top of the waters, brought to peace. verse ten is my
favorite. they had light continually! whether in a time of calm or
during a trying storm. i know that christ and heavenly father are
always there for us, if we choose it. the brother or jared was
constantly expressing gratitude (verse 9). he chose the light of the
gospel. they could have easily forgotten god during the times that the
sailing was smooth (literally). they could have relied on themselves
at that time. or they could have become angry and bitter during the
storms. but they didn't. and we don't have to either. they will help
us through any challenge that is given to us. they will lead us
through darkness. untill we get to the promised land (verse 12) the
celestial kingdom!!
that is why i like ether 6.

highlights from this week:
-amazing lessons filled with love. this transfer, one of my focuses is
loving everyone and properly expressing that love.
-singing at the train station. we have an investigator that lives
really far away, like 3 hours by bike. we don't see her very much, but
she has a "layover" at the trainstation this week, so we went there to
see her. she talked about how much she likes the hymns. sister p
offered to sing. i felt so uncomfortable. singing at the train
station? but we did and it was amazing. the spirit was strong, and a
woman came and asked what we were singing. we were able to share a bit
with her. it was really cool!
-our new investigator chen yihua! she's great. she came to conference.
she came to a family home evening. she's praying. she's good. we love
her!
-we rode to dalin (1 hr 45 min away) and did service with old people
there. they were so cute and took a million pictures of us. i think
that some of them had never seen white people before.
-hong yunling has a baptismal date! may 16!!!! she's so wonderful! she
was worried that her dad would oppose. we asked if she had a desire to
be baptized. she said yes, and then chose a day!
-conference was so so so great. i don't have time to write the best
lesson i learned, maybe next week. mainly , i'm too prideful. i have
too many of my own opinions. i'm changing this.
-i'm working this move to record what i learn. every day i learn so
much! why haven't i written it all down? i don't know. but, i'm making
an effort to ask myself, "so what? i learned this cool thing, but so
what? how will i repent and change accordingly?" i'm hoping to see a
lot of growth this move.
-how did it take me this long to realize that successful living
patterns are found in the gospel? we have perfect guidebooks. no
wonder the apostles are all such amazing, accomplished men. they live
the gospel. they live gods way. they live after the manner of
happiness. i am trying to too.

i love you all. i hope your easter was great! stay well.

love,
jade, sister jade

Transfer 10: Week 1

2009-05-03T13:48:00.001-07:00

oh no. i am such an old missionary. i am the oldest missionary (in real age and mission age) in the area. weird.

move calls came... i'm still in jiayi! sister hornberger moved to gaoxiong first ward, the same ward that president hsu lives in. nerveracking. my new companion is sister pickering. she's on her fourth move, and this is her fourth area. if president keeps moving her around then i'll die in jiayi, and i'll die happy. sister pickering (pan jiemei) is from northern california. she grew up on the beach, surrounded by redwoods. she's really happy. i'm grateful- this move i'm working on optimism and having faith in others. i recently read two talks that made me realize how much i need to work on this. one mentioned that every doorstep is santified at the time that we're standing on it. the other talked about how we need to treat every home as if the family inside is waiting for the gospel and ready to accept. i'm going to work this move to treat others as they ought to be, even if that is not how they really are. i think this will change a lot about my missionary methods, and my relationships with others. i'm sure that this move will be good. sister pickering likes to eat organic food and already told me about a drink her mom told her to make that balances hormones, gives energy and detoxinates. it consists of apple cider vinegar, cranberry juice, lemon juice and water. i have grown to love drinking vinegar which is supposed to change the ph of your body so that mosquitoes leave you alone, and help with your digestion, so i can't wait to try sister p's concoction. also, she wants to have dreadlocks when she goes home. cool! i like her a lot already.

the last days of last move were up and down, kind of like the whole move. looking at our investigator board saturday night was depressing. we're going to be working on finding souls this move. on the bright side, hong yunling and wang sirong (kitty, haha) are great and i think/hope that they will be able to be baptized this move! "make it a goal, make it happen." that motto seemed to work well through my first few years of college. i'm sure it will not let me down here.

on friday my testimony of heavenly father's willingness to answer prayers was strengthened. it was a day of miracles. at correlation meeting that night we told the elders and they laughed (at us, with us i'm not sure.). don't laugh. this is true. and it's proof of god's love...
so, friday was a white day. WHITE. we had nothing going on until the evening, so we decided to bike to a part of shuishang that we hadn't been to before. on our way out there we stopped at a police station to ask for directions because the neighborhood we were looking for was not on the map (sister h thought it was weird that i did that. and i guess considering the fact i would never go to a police station in america for anything, it is kind of strange. but i feel that police officers have an obligation to help people, i help them do that.). the officer told us where to go. we followed his directions to the T but rather than coming to a large intersection, as he said we would, we came to a crooked crossroads with three turn choices, all involving backtracking in some way or another. two men passed on scooters. we did not flag them down. the only men we talk to are ones in uniform. we decided to pray before anything else. sister hornberger asked heavenly father to send someone that would be able to guide us to zhongzhuang. the next person to ride past was a woman. at first we thought she was a man. i thought to myself, "only in rural taiwan would you see a man wearing a leopard print shirt." then we realized she was in fact a woman and quickly waved her down. we asked her where the neighborhood was, and showed her the address. it quickly became apparent that she did not speak a lick of mandrin. she apologized for being uneducated and unable to read then motioned for us to follow her. we did. she took us to some steel working shop, pretty creepy. we waited while she had a 10 minute conversation in taiwanese with the man there. i could understand some. the were conflicted between two opposite directions. in the end it was decided that we would follow the woman to zhongzhuang. we ended up taking the same road we had been on, and went back to where we started. we followed her for close to a half an hour and finally made it to the right neighborhood. she was an angel, i'm sure of it. we then, miraculously, found the home we were searching for. it was kind of in the middle of no where. we knocked about 10 doors (it was an old tradition home. horseshoe shaped with no "front door". we were grateful to know people still lived there. we could tell by the well kept alter in the main room.) we left a note and rode to the next area. the address said it was in shuishang, another policeman (i love policemen here!) directed us to zhongpu, an area i had never ridden to. we rode forever, feeling somewhat discouraged and worried that we were getting lost. we kept remembering our angel. suddenly another police station popped out of nowhere. it seemed to have literally fallen out of the sky. we asked the man inside where #676 was. he told us we were on the right path and directed us to keep riding. we found another home in the middle of nowhere. after some time there we headed back to jiayi. as we rode into the city, my bike became hard to ride. i looked down to see a flat front tire. we stopped and started looking for a bike shop. literally right next to us was a little bike store!! right next to us! the man inside was amazing. he replaced my inner-tire, fixed my alignment, secured my basket, filled my back tire and sister h's tires, and tightened her brakes. all within 10 minutes. all for about 7 dollars (american)! we made it home with time to eat and prepare for correlation meeting! do you see the miracles! one after another. small ones, but miracles nonetheless.

oh no. time is almost up. i'm sorry. ether 6 next week. i love love love you all. miracles are all around, every day. watch for them. they are there. we get to watch conference this weekend! i am so excited. and in a few weeks i get to call you! horray!

love,
sister jade

Strange Transfer 9: Week 6

2009-05-03T13:47:00.000-07:00

this transfer has gone by ridiculously fast. i really don't know where it has all gone. looking back i can see that a lot has happened and that i've learned loads. i feel really strange about it. i feel like some of the lessons i'm learning are really solidified in my mind. i feel like i'm making some of the same mistakes over and over.

as far as investigators go, things have been strange lately. we've gone through so many investigators this move. we have some good ones, but a lot that we can't seem to get our hands on and others that we can't seem to get progressing. i'm at a loss as to what to do. we'll get move calls friday or saturday. i would love to stay here in jiayi. i feel obligated to repair the places that are lacking. but i fear that my inadequacies are the reason that our teaching pool appears to be a small, murky pond and the third ward relief society president still won't tell us anything about the sisters we should be helping. the biggest news to report about investigators are as follows (from happiest to saddest)-
-qianrong was baptized on sunday and will be confirmed this sunday. her understanding amazes me, and the changes her mom has made recently amaze me even more. last week we went to their house. it felt different inside, it was cleaner and happier and brighter. the spirit is there. i love that. i want my home, whether it is the caseda in vegas, the basement on federal heights or my dream home in seattle, to be filled with the spirit of the lord and a devotion to serve him.
-wang sirong, kitty (i still laugh every time i see/say her name.)- she's good! she came to our fireside on saturday. afterwards she said that she loved every part, but that she has a lot of questions. she also told us that she's worried about her parents. they still don't know that she's meeting with us to talk about the gospel. her mom is under the impression that each time she brings sirong to the church it is for english help (at least she likes us because she thinks we're offering free tutoring!). this week we're going to have to work on overcoming this problem.
-yu peizhen seems to be the apostasy in action. there are simple principles that she still doesn't grasp. she reads the book of mormon, but explains it with her own thoughts. she's working so that she can move out of her boyfriend's apartment, but works on sundays. we're going to try a new approach, teaching principle by principle purely from the book of mormon. she needs a testimony of the restoration and of the savior.
-li luo yiling was doing really well. she has so much faith! but she doesn't know how to face her husband. during interviews president hsu told us to go to her house (uninvited) and meet her husband. we planned to do it this thursday. yesterday our lesson with yiling went well and we better understand their home situation. she said that this week she will write a letter to her husband and committed to getting a priesthood blessing on thursday. last night she called our house and said that she feels like she's not doing her part to the extent that she should be and that she's going to work on building up her courage. until then she doesn't think she should meet with us. my heart broke. like for real, it still hurts. she's so great. she has faith. she uses the gospel. i don't understand why things aren't working out. i'm baffled. i'm praying for understanding. why is jiayi falling apart these days?

on thursday this week i received a dreaded phone call... i have my departure date. june 26. i told the office that i'd be flying into mccarran. if that needs to be different let me know.
friday we had president's interviews. i cannot tell you how much i love the hsus. i love their love. this move i had such a good conversation with sister hsu while my companion was being interviewed. it didn't have much to do with the work, but i felt close to her for the first time ever. president was as hilarious and random as ever. i'm sure his advise will make sense somewhere down the road. for now i'm still trying to figure it out. ha.
saturday night we had a big fireside, planned by us missionaries. the turnout was good, a lot better than we expected, and many non-members came. we have an amazing new member in third ward. he's a college student and invited all of his friends to come. they did! the church was full of non-member men, the elders were in heaven! at one point brother he, our ward mission correlator in first, asked for 18 copies of the book of mormon because 18 of the guys that came wanted it! the elders have started teaching some of them, and we received some referrals ourselves! member referrals are gold to us. give the missionaries in your neighborhood referrals!

this week my thoughts keep falling back on love, and how essential it is to do this work. (my companion laughed at me this morning because earlier this move my study always seemed to fall back to judgement and now it's all about love.) i love taiwan. i love jiayi. i hope i love them enough. this morning i read president hickley's talk "the need for greater kindness". at one point he mentions that miracles are brought to pass by love, respect and kindness. i feel like my testimony is living proof of that. this week i'm going to focus on using kindness to bring miracles to this area!

oh no! time is up, i haven't talked about ether 6! next week. i promise.
remember next week i'll email on monday!!
oh really quick... good news... my bike is black, gold and flashy! and i haven't been bitten by a mosquito in 2 weeks! i owe it to drinking a glass of fruit vinegar each day for the last month!

i love you all. you are spectacular and you are my family. i am so blessed.

love,
sister jade

I'll think about it Transfer 9:Week 5

2009-04-04T13:52:00.000-07:00

ast night we spent what felt like forever trying to get a hold of members (active and less-active) to remind/invite them to come to the fireside we're holding on saturday night. i talked to a girl that refused to speak chinese, her english had a british accent and it made me laugh so hard. i can't keep from quoting the things she said to me, including, "i don't come to church because i'm busy with schoolwork." "missionaries used to live in my house. they'd speak english to me and take me to church with them." and "i'll think about it." don't say, "not funny". way funny! if you could just hear the voice!

speaking of british accents... riding around jiayi last preparation day buying groceries and whatnot, i pondered the fact that i want to speak like someone from beijing. i realized how ridiculous that is, and how ridiculous i am. (i'm starting to agree with sister hornberger. i'm so weird!) imagine a taiwanese elder serving in alabama, trying to speak english with a british accent rather than a southern drawl (spelling? i've never written that word). he would not win hearts, he'd win sideways glances. he would look like a fool. not desirable. so i'm changing my chinese mindset. i don't want a heavy accent in either direction, just clear tones and eloquence. so, yeah.

this last week has been good. this move has gone by fast. i can't believe it will be over in ten days! crazy! on monday night we had a little miracle. when i told elder welling about it on the phone that night i could hear him shaking his head with laughter. don't laugh. it's a real miracle! this is what happened... last week we were calling less-actives to invite them to the fireside. sister hornberger talked to a huang jiemei that sounded really nice, so she felt like she should set up time with her. she set for monday night at 6:30 at her house. later when she told me i asked where huang jiemei lived. she looked at the address which turned out to be in dalin, about 2 hours away. we debated for days what to do, whether to cancel or ride out there. i am deathly afraid of denying the spirit or seeing past a prompting. sister hornberger still felt good about it, so we treked out there. the map had the big streets and a ton of small unlabeled ones, we followed the spirit and made it to a neighborhood near hers in about an hour and forty minutes without getting lost! (*this is the first miracle!) we called her from a payphone to see where we should go from there. she said she'd come pick us up and was astonished that we had ridden our bikes up the hills of dalin to find her. we waited for a bit and managed to not be abducted by the creepy man with too many questions. "you're not a teacher? what a shame! you're so pretty. you should be a teafher. do you want to come to my house and sit for a while?" (miracle #2!) she came and took us to her house which we would not have been able to find on our own. she was so kind! one of the most christlike people i've met in taiwan. she is constantly serving and helping her neighborhood. i love her. she took us back to the corner store where we left our bikes. according to our watches we had an hour to get home by 9. we both assumed we'd be walking in the door around 9:29, right before our curfew. we made it into our living room at 9:01. (THE BIG MIRACLE!!) i do not know how to explain how it was done. it was heavebly father's help. we know it was. i'm grateful for this simple evidence that the lord really is looking out for us. we see miracles every day, but it was nice to see this type, one proven by our watches!

yesterday elder cornelius and elder welling had their own miracle that i'd like to share quickly... they are having a baptism on saturday. zhang jian, their investigator,was told by a friend that he should invite his parents to his baptism. his mom said she had no time. his dad said he can't be baptized. zhang jian was devastated and had no idea what to do. his friend told him to pray all he could that day. the next day his dad called him, asked him if he was joining our church. zhang jian said yes and his dad said he could be baptized. miracle! i love miracles.

right now i'm working towards my own miracle. i know that it is possible, through christ. i've been rereading my favorite talks. the other day i read tongue of angels by elder holland. i realized that i often often often come off really mean (i probably really am mean) because of my tone of voice and word choice. i started pondering the damage i've seen caused by words and the way people treat others. i never want to be the cause of such damage! ever! so i've been studying the scriptures about self-mastery and the power of words. it seems like since this study started, everything i read, whether associated to this or not, screams the fact that anything good can be brought to pass through christ's gospel and atonement. i am so grateful for him! my favorite scripture right now is alma 20:4 "i know that in the strength of the lord thou canst do all thing." in the strength of the lord we can do all things, just like ammon! (are you still doing family scripture study? can i invite you to read ether 6? it's my favorite right now. i want to hear what you think of it, then i'll tell you why i like it.)

my time is almost up. i love you all! i know that we are members of christ's church. i know it was restored through the prophet joseph smith. i cannot express my gratitude for these truths!

i hope all is well. i miss you my family!

love,
sister jade

be jubilent my feet transfer 9: Week 4

2009-03-19T22:30:00.001-07:00

a few weeks ago i received a letter from my missionary friend sister andersen (i

love my missionary friends!). she talked about working on diligence because

preach my gospel promises that diligence will lead to finding joy in the work.

this past week a line from "battle hymn of the republic" seems to constantly run

through my head... "be swift my soul to answer him, be jubilant my feet." on

monday night after weekly planning, companionship inventory (sometimes, no more

like often, the best things for you are the most dreaded), and a lesson which

made it clear that our investigator was not going to give up buddhism (she kept

saying over and over about the plan of salvation, "it's the same as

reincarnation. it's the same as buddhism. you just want me to go through once

instead of several times. i'm already almost to the celestial kingdom.") my

companion and i worked really hard on being diligent and focused. i mean, we're

diligent and focused every day, but this time we worked for it and focused more

on it and did it together. it was one of the most pleasant nights of my mission.

and more than just me being happy, my comp and i were happy together, which is

essential! these combined have caused me to come to the conclusion that rather

on working hard to find happiness through investigators or finding or personal

study or prayer at the timest that things may be difficult, i need to start

finding joy in the work through diligence.

this week has been pretty good. i think it has been kind of like a model of the

typical week of a missionary. we've had a few investigators "commit suicide",

either through their actions (not answering their phones) or through their words

("i'll just come to the church when i have time. it was great to meet you.").

but we've also found some great new ones. we've met some crazies (chen yujun

that i was excited about last week is definitely not emotionally stable) and

have been able to help and meet some awesome ward members.

qianrong passed her baptismal interview on friday! elder welling said that she

is really awesome and that her testimony is strong. right before the interview

we had a really stern lesson directed to her mom. remember, she knows the

commandments, testifies of the commandments but doesn't keep them. we talked

about heavenly fathers inability to help us and bless us when we knowingly break

his commandments. and we talked about the fact that the holy ghost is only

promised to attend us as we keep our baptismal covenants and worthily partake of

the sacrament. we committed her to tell her boss that she wouldn't work on

sundays. she spirit was very strong as we testified that heavenly father knows

their family and their financial situation and that he would make up for

whatever income is lost by her resting on sunday. i know that god loves all of

his children. i know that he will bless that family. chen jiemei (qianrong's

mom) wept as she said that she knew what she needed to do. she came to church

that sunday! and her daughter's didn't have the 7-11 breakfasts that she have in

hand every sabbath morning. i am so happy for them. i can't wait to see the

blessings that will be poured upon them the coming weeks as they work as a

family to prepare for qianrong and yixuan's baptisms.

this week i read a talk that has become one of my new favorites. "broken things

to mend" by elder jeffrey r. holland. lately i feel like i've learned a lot that

will change the way i face trials. in elder holland's talk one of my favorite

parts says, "[when we are facing hardships or feel that all is going horribly

and beyond repair] anything we can change we should change, and we must forgive

the rest." after reading this i realized there is so much about my current way

of looking at challenges that i need to change and repent of. the world's

mindset is to be angry or sad and to mope a bit, rather than looking at a

difficult  situation and thinking, "what do I (imagine that I in italics) need

to change?" when i ponder facing trials with a penitent attitude and then moving

forward making necessary changes as directed by the spirit, i realize that a lot

of things that "went wrong" in my pre-mission life could have been a lot more

bearable.. i think it is important to learn that we must change ourselves before

our world can change. as i state that it sounds so obvious, but how often do we

live it? the next part of what he says is that we MUST forgive the rest. i think

i need to work on letting go of that which i can't control. and not letting go

begrudgingly or full of frustration! i need to better recognize that we all have

agency, i cannot change others' decisions, but i can choose how i react. i've

always found it hard to say "it's all in the lord's hands" because so much is

influenced by the choices of imperfect people here on earth. i do know, though,

that we can trust in god and his promises (i recently received a letter that

reminded me about the "principle of compensation" as elder joseph b. wirthlin

taught in "come what may and love it"). as we do our part and walk forward,

repenting of our inadequecies (emphasize the "working to change" part of

repentance) and forgive others of theirs, heavenly father and the atonement will

make up for whatever is lacking, we will grow, and we will be steps closer to

the celestial glory waiting for us. i'm sorry that when i share things i learn

my voice sound like it is lecturing and my thoughts are typed sloppily.. i hope

that all of that made sense. i love that on my mission every day i'm faced by my

weaknesses, every day i see areas that need to be changed. it's hard, it's not

always fun, but i know that i'm a better person for it.

other than that a few interesting bits from the last while...

-we have a new investigator named "kitty". please say that your minds were just

flooded with thoughts of my high school career and how much i adore the name

"kitty" haha. i laugh whenever we talk about her. i like her because on her

english class registration form she wrote her age as "18+1" meaning that she's

19, and because she wants to learn the gospel.

-the other day a less-active member i had never met asked me if i was taiwanese

as we talked on the phone. she said my chinese was really good. i have mixed

feelings: first, i'm flattered and grateful that heavenly father helps me to

communicate with "black hats", second, i'm disappointed- i work hard to have a

mainland accent rather than a taiwanese accent. i hope i sound more like i'm

from beijing than from southern taiwan, but being understood is the important

part and conveying the spirit is the purpose.

-last week i forgot my preach my gospel at the church for a few days. i felt

unwell and naked every morning without it. i love that book!

-i am called sister heinous. my legs are covered in bumps.

-chris pfau is coming to jia yi in june!!!

my time is up. i love you! mom-i want to hear details about mandi and scott's

visits!

love,

jade! zeng jiemei

you wierdo transfer 9: Week 3

2009-03-19T22:29:00.000-07:00

i can't believe it's already week three. time goes by so fast. too fast.

"you weirdo!" and "you're so weird." are the what i've heard from my companion

more than anything else (beside her testimony). i'm working on deciding whether

or not what she says is true. am i really that weird? i can hear you all

answering as i type this. mom would say no. dad would hesitate and say sort of,

sometimes. lauren would laugh and say yes when i dance in the kitchen. chloe

would say yes with more umph than any others. phoebe and naomi would say no,

because they love me the most.

this week has had some exciting things happen, and some really great points..

last night we got a few special announcements. (elder welling made us think they

were opening china then made us wait hours before hearing what was really

happening. we're still kind of mad, but not really.) a. elder bednar is coming

in april and will be here for our mission conference!! b.. on july  1 when pres

and sis hsu go home the three missions in taiwan will be rearranged into two.

some bad blood exists between taichung and kaohsiung missionaries, so president

hsu is working hard to fix that before all of the kaohsiung missionaries become

taichung missionaries. the change will not affect me, so i'm neutral.

this week we had an amazing zone conference. all zone conferences are amazing. i

love them. president hsu told us that elder perkins observed that our mission

has developed a culture of strict obedience and diligence and that because of

this we can "boldly call upon the powers of heaven" for blessings, support,

miracles, etc. i think that after hearing this all of us were so excited and

happy that we'll be even more obedient and diligent and BOLD. i think we'll see

great things in the next few months. i look forward to it.

jiayi has seen some great things. we have some amazing new investigators. i'm

trying to not get too excited, but i am. they seem so great, so ready. one- chen

yujun called our house on monday morning and asked for two sisters that were

here more than a year ago. we told her they were gone but asked if she would

want to meet with us. she said yes and met us at the church the next day. what

an example of someone who has been prepared! she met with sister hafen (died my

first move) and sister brayton (died before i got on island) once but felt it

wasn't for her. lately she's been thinking about them and is ready to learn

more. more than a year has passed and she still remembers them. way cool! this

is comforting and reminds me that our efforts are not wasted, even when we don't

see fruits immediately.

yu peizhen found two jobs this week! so she's going to start saving money to

move out! miracles. our god is a god of miracles. i love him. he loves us.

luo qianrong will have her baptismal interview on friday! and then will be

baptized on the 29th with her little sister. we're still working on her mom. i

don't understand her. we reviewed commandments a few days ago. she was able to

say exactly what each commandment entails, but fails to live them. i think

qianrong is such a blessing in their home and keeps them afloat. i'm sure her

baptism (and her sister yixuan's) will bring even more blessings to their

familiy.

huang chunlan, karen was inactive when i came. now she comes to church every

week and has invited us to bring investigators over to her home for dinner.

she's so much happier now! i swear she changes for the better with every

sacrament meeting.

only a few minutes left. i want to mention somethink i've learned lately... i

found an amazing sentence in preach my gospel. "keeping covenants give you

power." !!! that is true for every member. i've discovered this week more then

before that everything we learn in the mission field is directly applicable to

our lives as members. each member has made covenants. i think we can say each

person on earth has made promises to god, we just don't remember them. before we

came we promised to live valiently and strive to return to our father. at

baptism we promise to take on christ's name and keep commandments. in the temple

we further commit to being a disciple of christ. and when we are sealed to our

families we promise to work with them and for them throughout our lives. doing

these things GIVES US POWER! power to overcome temptation, trials, weaknesses,

the natural man. not just any power, and not our own power, but divine power.

god's perfect power. i know that this is true! i know heavenly father wants to

bless him, just just have to create a situation in which he can!

i only have one minute. i love you all. thankk you for everything!

love,

sister jade o.

good transfer 9: week 2

2009-03-19T22:23:00.000-07:00

thing are good. it makes me really happy. things are great with my companion, we

have some really great new investigators and some great established

investigators.

let me tell you about our investigators and the strides they are making. (i hate

sitting in front of the computer, and i've spent the morning trying to figure

out some school stuff, so this will be short.)

yu peizhen! we reviewed the law of chastity and broke the news to her that she

cannot get baptized until she's married or has moved out. it was the most

emotional lesson of my mission! i even cried. she wants to be baptized, and be

with her boyfriend. she couldn't understand how someone who loves her (heavenly

father) would want to take away that which makes her most happy (her boyfriend).

we explained that she didn't have to leave him, just move into her own home.

she's willing to do it, but doesn't have a job so she doesn't see how it's

possible. she's also willing to get married, but can't force her boyfriend into

it. we met with her a few days later. she said that she told her boyfriend and

he said that if she moved out it wouldn't change their relationship. i am so

proud of her and her faith. i love the way she's moving forward. i know it will

strengthen her testimony!

li luo yiling- has been an investigator for 4 years! she wants to get baptized

but her husband is against it. lately he's been crazy! last week we committed

her to quit her new job which required her to work on sundays, she did it that

day! a few days later she met with a representative from the church's employment

help department to try to find a better job. her husband found out that she was

at the church, not at church but at THE church. since then he won't eat the

meals she prepares and started smoking again after quitting. we don't know what

to do beside encourage her to keep up her part.

those are the big things. the missionaries are putting on a fireside in a few

weeks to help members recognize what a testimony is. a member of the bishopric

in third ward called this morning to help me figure out how to help the rs

president. while he had me on the phone he asked "an embarrassing english

question" (he's an english teacher) he wanted to double check the pronounciation

of sanitary pad and tampon. my companion was in hysterics as a enunciated very

clearly several times ttaaammmppooonnn into our home phone. tomorrow is zone

conference, i'm excited. on monday we had fhe at the former patriarch's house.

it was so spectacular to see and 80 year old man play "signs" and "charades"! i

was dying.

that's all for now. i love you all and miss you!!!!

love,

sister jade lani ozawa.

Still breathing Transfer NINE: Week 1

2009-02-28T15:57:00.000-08:00

Written Feb 23

first- happy birthday dad and grandpa reid!! two wonderful men, another year

older.

i'm still in jiayi! hooray. i was really excited to get the call that said i'd

stay here. i'm really excited about the district we have this transfer... elder

welling stayed and his new companion is elder cornelius from our mtc district!

president hsu took two elders out of an area next to us, so the two left are now

part of our district... elder cleaver, american, nice i guess and elder tang, a

sarcastic taiwanese elder. you don't understand the commodity that a sarcastic

taiwanese is! they are hard to come by, so i look forward to our weekly

meetings.

my companion is sister hornberger from orem, utah. i don't know her very well.

but this move is going to be good. it's going to be good.

last night we visited a less active member. she has an amazing testimony and her

husband and children come every week, but since they moved down from taipei she

hasn't been able to find a place in the ward and feels really uncomfortable with

how clique-y everyone is. she has told everyone that she's sick and that's what

we thought too but when i said that i was a psychology major she said, "i'm so

happy! i can talk to you. other people wouldn't understand," and then told us

the real reason's she's not coming to church. she told us some of the things

that have happened since she came, as extreme as they were, sister chen and i

were not surprised. like i mentioned in last week's email, we've faced weird

challenges in dealing with third ward. (i thought that after meeting with the

relief society president last week things would get at least a little better.

nope. we visited a less-active member that hadn't been to church in a long time

on saturday. she came on sunday. i tried to talk to the rs president about it

after church but she walked away from me mid-sentence. i was stunned, but not at

the same time.) as we rode home i realized how much work needs to be done in

these wards. it's kind of stressful, but i also really look forward to having to

fight and work hard for these people. does that make sense?

as i pondered all that is ahead for the next six weeks, i also realized how not

right my mindset since move calls came has been. my past experiences with sis h

haven't been super positive and i worried that this move would be tough. all i

could see between potential companion issues, ward problems and investigators

that we may have to drop were challenges and trials. i started trying to be

positive by thinking, "after the trial comes the blessing. great things must be

in store for jiayi." as we rode, sister chen said to me, "i think you're in

jiayi for a reason. i know you'll help them." i realized then that sister

hornberger was coming to jiayi for a reason as well. why was i choosing to look

at everything as a challenge with a blessing waiting afterwards. sometimes

heavenly father just gives blessings. sister hornberger could very well be

exactly what this area needs. our companionship (involving both of us together!)

might be able to find the key to bring unity to third ward! so, things are going

to be good this move. i'm going to work unceasingly for companionship unity and

to have the spirit to help me know what is best for those around us.

it has only been a few days since i last wrote, so i don't have a whole lot to

report. i do, though, want to tell you about the grossest thing i have

experienced since i got to taiwan. all of the disgusting things i've

seen/felt/heard seem to involve the fauna of taiwan. my swollen lip was pretty

sick, my bite covered legs were nasty and my elephantitis wrist was hard to look

at (fear not, it has gone down to near normal size. my watch is again latched on

the 2nd notch rather than the 4th as it was on wednesday. i worried over the

weekend that i may permanently have one chubby wrist and one normal one.

luckily, i'm almost completely healed.) on friday morning i went into the

kitchen to make some oatmeal. as i put my cup into the microwave i noticed a

whitish thing moving on the floor, at first i wasn't sure what it was. i got a

closer look and concluded it was some type of larvae. as i stepped back i

noticed a handful more and decided they were probably maggots. i started to

become nauseated and called for sister chen in the most pathetic voice ever,

pathetic enough that she RAN to the kitchen. we started inspecting and found

tons of them. we sprayed them with the only bug spray we had, but they didn't

die, so we swept the up and flushed them. a few hours later, before heading out

for the day, i went back into the kitchen to find more all over the floor. we

had no idea where they were coming from. i was totally freaked out, so i called

sister hsu. she laughed a bit and then said, "if they don't die, don't worry.

they'll turn into flies and then die eventually." real comforting! telling this

story makes me sick! our apartment is super clean, yet has somehow turned into a

maggot farm!! gross gross gross. sister chen and i did all we could think to do,

and it seems to have taken care of the problem. but since then i can't enter the

kitchen without inspecting the corners, prepared to find a little wriggling guy.

sick sick sick. (dad- not good sick, gross sick.)

friday we spent the day in minxiong, about an hour away. it felt so good to

spend a day visiting less-active members. my heart goes out to them. i want so

badly to help them come back. we are making headway with a few. we'll see how

the next while goes. it's going to be good! (i'm saying that over and over and

over again, if you haven't noticed.)

so, things are good here. i miss you all. i love you all! i'll have wonderful

stories next week, i'm sure.

love,

sister jlo

another one down transfer 8: Week 6

2009-02-28T15:56:00.000-08:00

i can't believe it's the last week of this move. crazy! the last week has been a

good one, an amazing one, so far. we have some amazing investigators, actually

never in my mission have i had so many investigators with so much potential.

yesterday we had 7 lessons, tomorrow we have 6 planned. jiayi is good to me.

three of the best we have these days are member referrals. MEMBER REFERRALS ARE

THE GREATEST THING EVER! SHARE THE GOSPEL WITH YOUR FRIENDS.

-yu peizhen. i'm sure i've mentioned her. she won't be able to make her

baptismal date, march 6, but i think it's better this way. we have a member that

is a great help and a great challenge. she pressured us into the date, but my

companion and i both think peizhen won't be ready. a little bit later will be

better. yesterday we shared with her about the importance and gravity of

baptism. right now the biggest obstacle is that she lives with her boyfriend of

3 years. she has pretty much been abandoned by family, is without many friends

and has no job. so, he's about all she's got. when we taught the law of chastity

she said she'd try her hardest. i believe her, she's honest and sincere. but to

be baptized she'll either have to move out or get married. i think the next few

weeks will be interesting as far as helping her prepare goes.

-chen jing. we met her last week. she read a copu of the liahona and the booklet

"3 simple ways to a happier family" at a member's restaurant. she's amazing and

so prepared. in the two times that we've met with her she has shared a lot of

her ideas and perspectives. they always seem to be right in line with our

doctrine. friends from the christian church she attends try to persuade her not

to meet with us. they tell her that we're a cult and practice polygamy. she

responds by asking them how much of our doctine they understand. right now her

biggest question is why does everyone hate us so much. we struggle to answer

concretely because we're baffled too.

-shen katherine. she grew up in america, in a baptist family. they work to

persuade her the same her the same way chen jing's friends do. but she has a

similar attitude and wants to understand for herself first. the first time she

came to the church the ward rallied around her and made her feel really at home.

i know that this helped a lot. i think sometimes we as members forget our role

as vehicles of heavenly father's love. think about it this way. how easy would

it be for someone in a barren room with not acquaintances to feel god's care for

them? not easy, we need each other to help us see his love. we can be his love

on earth. i invite you to love someone this week, in order to help them feel

heavenly father's love for them!

on thursday we're meeting a fourth member referral. the member, lin jixuan, is a

recent convert found by elder peterson, my friend's brother. she says that her

friend is really anxious and excited to meet with us, which in turn makes us

anxious and excited to teach her.

other investigators are doing well too.

-gao xiaoting came to church on her own this sunday. her desire seems to be more

and more, she just struggles to hear heavenly father's answers. last week we had

a really great lesson about recognizing blessings and promptings rather than

brushing them off as coincidence.

-li peixuan will be baptized next month. she's 9 and adorable. she reminds me so

much of phoebe and naomi.

-luo qianrong will also be baptized next month. her mom is still a challenge.

they intentionally stood us up on sunday to go to dinner. i think some parents

struggle to see that they may be in the way of their children's salvation. that

sounds harsh. but qianrong's mom is a member. we still don't know why she's

being the way she is. we're grateful that they're coming to church lately.

-luo yuchun went missing in action after chinese new year. i called on a whim on

sunday and she answered. then she accepted the invitation to come to a family

home evening on monday. we'll see how the rest of the week goes.

-lin yujing is seventeen and may have bisexual tendencies, but each time we meet

with her she seems less interested in america and more interested in the gospel.

there are more but these are the ones that i'm most excited about these days.

i'm excited to know that i'll probably stay in jiayi next move! i love this

city.

why will i stay in jiayi you ask? the wards are kind of a mess and need

consistency.

last week we met with the first ward relief society president. i walked out not

feeling like a missionary, more like a high school student. the "discuss how to

help less-actives" meeting was a "ward gossip" hour. we were told not to visit

certain people because if they come back to church it may negatively affect the

ward. i refuse to not visit members beause their children have offended active

member.

last week we also met wtih the third ward relief society president. this meeting

was opposite. she wouldn't tell us anything! i tried to run through the members

we're assigned to visit. it was like this...

"we're not sure how to help her. do you know much about her situation."

"i know her circumstances." =long pause=

"so, how can we help her come back to church? do you know why she doesn't come?"

"yes, i know why she doesn't come." =long pause=

this is how it went with about every member we "discussed". i'm not sure why

there is such a big barrier there. i'm grateful she's actually speaking to us,

she used to blatantly ignore the sister missionaries so i made lots of cookies

and wrote lots of thank you notes for her service.

time is almost up. things are great here. yesterday we celebrated sister chen's

birthday. i treated her to a thai lunch and the elders helped me surprise her

during dinner. i have never seen so much silly string in my life. my english

class is cute. i love them. they call me ozawa as if it were my first name and

they ask me funny things. one asked, "what are the requirements for your

husband?" i laughed out loud. the next week one brought a ny times article for

me about finances and their affect on marital bliss. crazy taiwanese housewives.

oh really quick... remember how in pingdong my lip swelled. same thing happened

last night to my arm. my left wrist is about twice as large as normal size.

weird. i'll update you on MONDAY!

love you all. write a couple of days early next week.

muah!

sister jade.

Frustration

2009-02-28T15:43:00.000-08:00

I think this is transfer 8: Week 5

i just wrote a LONG start to this week's email, then my clumsy hand hit the

wrong button and all is lost. i'm sorry. i'll try to make the re-do good. past

shows what happens to my morale when things like this happen. we'll see how

today turns out.

chlover, my love. the first single. easy. do you think i'd forget the format

that fast?!?! i have a song for you.

"now i'm sunny with a high of 75

since you took my heavy heart and made it light

and it's funny how you find you enjoy your life

when you're happy to be alive."

this is my theme song. christ has changed my life. spring is here in full force

and the weather is in the mid-70's. summer is around the corner, mango ice,

fresh pineapple and my one year on island mark are all around the corner. i feel

like miracles are around the corner, i know they are around every corner. i see

them every day.

today the temple was AMAZING AMAZING AMAZING beyond comprehension! it's

interesting how some things you don't realize you miss until you are reunited.

and it was really interesting to perceive the ways i've grown in the past year.

i don't think i've ever gotten more out of a few hours in the temple. i'm so

jealous of taipei missionaries that are able to go regularly!! i look frequent

temple trips when i get home. i think three things greatly influenced how

spectacular the temple was today...

1. really really really living the gospel for the past 13 months. long term

preparation, if you will.

2. going with a couple of questions in mind. in the past little while i've

learned from four source about the power of SEEKING answers. a. the ensign

article last month about enhancing study of d and c. b. elder perkins advising

us to attend every church meeting with a question or two we'd like answered. c.

the scriptures! do you know how many time they mention "ask and ye shall

receive" 70+! d. president hsu's free-flowing wisdom. i think ponder questions

before we go to the temple invites the holy ghost to teach according to our

needs. i think it also helps us to be alert and receptive to the message and

guidance heavenly father has for us.

3. short term preparation. i think the anticipation and build-up of this trip

and fasting before/during the session made a huge difference.

i love the house of the lord!

this week i'm going to organize my thoughts and hit you with an amazing email

next week. i'm sorry this is short. IT DOES NOT REPRESENT MY LOVE FOR YOU. MY

LOVE IS ETERNAL! FAMILIES ARE FOREVER.

i love you all.

love,

sister zeng yuru, jade lani ozawa

From One Meal To The Next... Transfer 8: Week 3

2009-02-04T22:01:00.001-08:00

oh. my. gosh. you would not believe how crazy the food we are eating is! i think

i've become desensitized. they serve us a huge whole fish or a whole chicken in

chinese medicine soup and no longer flinch. now it's the portions and variety

that have my jaw dropping. it's out of control! i'm learning to eat really slow

and "play" with my food to make it look like i've eaten more than i actually

have. taiwanese people are amazing though, they know! you can sneakily dodge a

dish and think you got away with eat, then the wife says, "zeng jiemei, you

haven't eaten the barbequed beef yet." i'm definitely learning about hospitality

here.

this last week has been good. we;ve had some exciting things happen.

-zone conference! i love zone conference! this transfer it was extra special

because elder perkins from the first quorum of the seventy was here with his

wife. he taught so many cool things and really complimented our mission. his

wife said that usually he won't share such deep doctrine, but elder perkins

could tell that we could handle it. he didn't feel like there were any obedience

problems that he had to bring up. i'm sure president and sister hsu were proud

of us.

one of my favorite things that he talked about was how the gospel blesses

families. this is one of the principles we share in the first lesson, sometimes

i think it's a kind of hard one to teach. that sounds weird huh? you'd think it

would be the easiest, a lot easier than the great apostasy. i think that because

i grew up in the church, the knowledge that following christ will bless me and

those around me has become intrinsic (that doesn't mean i always act

accordingly). i forget that others don't necessarily  realize what a large

impact christ can have on all they know. elder perkins bore testimony to all of

us who grew up in an lds family and to all of the converts in our mission that

whether or not we see it immediately or within our lifetimes, nothing can or

will help our families more than our efforts to live the gospel. i know that

what he said is true. i am so grateful for this great plan!

-we met the most golden golden golden investigator ever! i have so much i could

say about yu peizhen, but not much time. we'll see how this next week goes and

i'll fill you in next wednesday.

each time we go eat at a member's home we have to share a short message. our

purpose is to strengthen ALL we come in contact with. president hsu has asked us

that during chinese new year we share about family. as i studied the other day

in preparation i read a scripture that hit me differently than usual. doctrine

and convenants 18: 10, 15-16. in sacrament meeting a couple of weeks ago a

bishopric member shared a dream he had in which he waited outside of the

celestial kingdom. heavenly father asked him, "why is it only you?" implying

that he should have done more to get his family there with him. i think the

three-fold mission of the church fits perfectly within our families we have

three major resposibilities: 1. family history and temple ordinances for our

ancestors (redeeming the dead) 2. working as hard as we can to have a strong

family built on a gospel foundation so that our descendants may also be active

in the church (perfecting the saints) 3. sharing the happiness we have been

blessed to know with our family (and friends) that don't realize what they are

missing (spreading the gospel). our resposibilities are great and may appear

heavy, but i know that as we share all that we have spiritually (and temporally)

with those that came before us, those that will come after us and those around

us, we will see our happiness being enlarged. i know the celestial kingdom is

the happiest place there is, but i imagine it wouldn't be very happy if we were

there alone, without our parents, siblings, spouses and children. the kingdom of

god or bust!! let's all keep striving.

i love you all. hooray for eternal families! i get to spend FOREVER with you!!

love,

sister jade!

Happy Chinese New Year Transfer 8: Week 2

2009-02-04T22:00:00.001-08:00

hello beloved family! thank you for the emails. i'm always so so so happy to

hear from you. really. everyone sounds really good, which makes me glad.

taiwan is still taiwan and wonderful. chinese new year is right around the

corner. there are paper lanterns hanging on the streets and decorations all over

the place. scheduling lessons is getting tough because everyone will spend next

week partying and with family, but i'm sure we'll find plenty of contacting

activities to fill our time. most taiwanese people clean their homes once a

year, at chinese new year. it's really interesting to me. at carrefour, a

supermarket from france where we do a lot of shopping, the areas that house the

"seasonal wares" used to be full of christmas decorations. now they are full of

bleach, rubber gloves, mops, windex and other cleaning supplies. other areas of

the store are covered in red and well-stocked with traditional candy. the

members are excited to help the missionaries celebrate. we have meal

appointments for lunch AND dinner for a week. i look forward to it, and am also

scared to death. sister chen and i have determined to start fasting now in

preparation.

speaking of sister chen, things are good and will continue to improve. i've

discovered, again, that i'm a wretched communicator. i'm sure none of you are

surprised. i'm learning that it's much healthier, more righteous and happier to

talk rather than harbor ill feelings. like i said last week, just because i

learn something doesn't mean i can quickly put it into practice. man man lai

(slowly come). another thing that i learned, this morning actually, is that when

i'm frustrated or harboring less than christlike feelings i can remember the

things i know and expel any anger or contention. how did i learn this? this

morning after personal study at the start of companion study i was feeling

overwhelmed by all that i have to get done today before english class and

frustrated by the fact that sister chen doesn't have to prepare a lesson or

proofread papers or make sure we call all of our referrals or... a number of

things. stupid, i know. i'm blessed to be able to teach jiayi's wonderful

advanced english class, blessed to be trusted by my cute students to proofread

work and school documents, blessed to have resposibilities that will shape my

character if i chose to let them, blessed to have a cute taiwanese companion who

is eager to learn english and eager to serve the lord. i'm blessed, really

blessed, but this morning i temporarily forget my blessings and pouted in my

head as we sang "guide us, o thou great jehovah" in chinese. then for half of

comp study we practiced teaching the first lesson (heavenly father, prophets,

christ, the restoration) in ten minutes to prepare for zone conference tomorrow

(elder anthony perkins will be here and asked us to prepare these things).

testifying of god's love for us, the power of the priesthood and the divine

mission of the first prophet of this dispensation (even though it was to a

bookcase) filled me with love! so, i've decided that this week when i get

frustrated and forget how stinking blessed i am, i will bear more fervent

testimony on the streets and in my heart until i'm happy again.

this week has had some exciting things. let me tell you.

-i guess this isn't really exciting, but interesting... monday i attended my

fifth (i think) funeral in taiwan and on saturday i'll attend my sixth (maybe

seventh). the missionaries here have started joking that i'm a curse and that

those around me die. sad, huh?

-i'm teaching advanced english. i found an english dictionary in chaozhou that

hasn't left my side since. (i read it for at least ten minutes a day during

mealtimes, because i'm so cool.) i am really really excited that tonight i can

take my dictionary to class and enrich my own english as i try my hardest to

help a handful of taiwanese men and women improve theirs.

-this week THREE less-active members came to church. 1. guo kaixin. i LOVE her!

she's my favorite. i've been meeting with her about once a week since i got

here. last week we talked about the holy ghost and his voice. we read from the

talk that kyle gave me back in the day that drove me to read and pray (candle of

the lord by boyd k packer). when we mentioned the things that we can do to

prepare ourselves to hear the still, small voice she said she had been thinking

about how badly she wants to come to church. so she did! it was so great. 2. gao

lingya. she loves to help with our lessons, but usually doesn't come to church.

she has depression that shortened her mission and has been angry with god every

since. twice the last two weeks she was scheduled to help with our lessons and

we had time to talk with her because either our investigator was late or didn't

show up. we did our best to strengthen her, and i had a really cool experience

where i found myself saying things that i KNOW didn't come from my little mortal

mind. then, this sunday she came to church! for the first time since i got

here!! 3. wang huiqi. i still don't know her, but we set up for friday. saturday

night we left a note at her house, so sunday she came. i feel like we were led

to her home by the spirit.

-luo li yiling, a 3+ year investigator that originally had a baptismal date for

september of this year has committed to be baptized in february. her husband is

against it at this point. so we're praying for a miracle. we need your prayers!

i'm so grateful that heavenly father is a god of miracles. i really think her

baptism can go through.

-i met a really cool less-active this week. she fed us arctic shrimp. delicious.

time is up! i love you all. i have so much more to say. it will have to wait

until next week. thank you for being wonderful!!

love love love,

sister o