It snowed yesterday and everyone was a bit distracted during church because of it haha:) Yesterday was AMAZING. I gave a talk and it went super well. We had lots of people come to hear me speak, including my crew from Bade, JJ and Isabella and Debbie and my recent convert Pan Dixiong!!!!!! It was SO touching. I was given a lot of gifts yesterday and a HUGE card that the ward members all signed. Chantelle and ChenLei came. ChenLei is experiencing incredible changes. Her life is controlled by her mother who is like 85. So her mom says she can't get baptized even though she's like 48. But she is keeping the faith and learning and changing. It's been amazing to witness.
Also Chantelle. She is just a fun loving 22 year old with no goals or plans, just fun. So she is just starting to witness the way the gospel can change her life. She is starting to keep commandments and love the gospel and feel the Spirit. It's so cool!! As we have been creating specific spiritual atmospheres for our investigators to feel the Spirit in the way they need it, it has been speeding up their conversion. It's so cool.
We have our new investigator LinLuoFan, he is 17 and SO gonna get baptized. He is so golden and he LOVES the feeling inside the chapel. We shared the Restoration with him this week and he said he, like Joseph Smith, had been lost and wanted to find a light and a direction, and now he is slowly finding it. He is so awesome!!! His mom said that he can make the choice for himself too, which is really rare in Taiwan!!
We went on THREE EXCHANGES this past week. Oh man I do NOT have time to talk about it all. I did temple tours on Tuesday with Sister Cutler and we saw SO MANY MIRACLES. Our former investigator ChenChongYong came to JinHua to take us to lunch. He still wants to join our church but is still afraid of his wife's reaction. Chen Lei SET A BAPTISMAL DATE. She pointed to her Buddhist bracelet as if to say " I am married to Buddha, I can't make this change." Then the Spirit told me to tell her boldly "That commitment has NO meaning." At first I was scared that I was too bold, telling her her lifelong religion and devotion to Buddha isn't real, but she accepted it and really wants to make it back to the Celestial Kingdom!
I also saw Duncan at the temple, he brought me Costco muffins again:) He is so amazing, he said " I love prayer, It's my favorite. Heavenly Father is so awesome." He is truly converted to the gospel. He was originally going to come see me off at the airport, then he found out it was his stake temple day, so he decided going to the temple was more important. I agree:)
Then I went on exchanges with Sister Chan. It was so great to be companions with her again. She has changed a lot. Her viewpoint of her mission is more focused, she is happier and I can tell she does it because she loves the Lord and does it for His glory. She is so energetic and I am SO grateful I got to be with her again. We found two SUPER awesome new investigators together!!! Just like old times in YuLi:)
Then I went on exchanges with Sister Nanney. She is a quieter one, but her testimony is so powerful. We saw an awesome miracle of a 16 year old who said she felt an incredible feeling when we talked about baptism and the Book of Mormon. She committed to baptism on the spot:) I am so blessed to have had this calling as Sister Training Leader, to work with and learn from so many sisters. I am grateful that I have been able to influence their lives and them mine.
We went to Jin Jiemei's house up on the mountain this morning with our whole zone. She made cake and noodles and salad for us. We got our zone t-shirts and just talked. She is so amazing for hosting us all up in her super fancy custom-made apartment up on the 12th floor:) We get to be all together again tomorrow because there is a world-wide broadcast for all the missionaries about Teaching Repentance and Baptizing Converts.
We went house hunting this week...we might be moving!!! Our apartment is too small for 4 sisters to live in, even if its just twice a week. And our bathroom has mold. And the people who live below us are rude. Haha it was fun going shopping for a new house!!
One of my favorite miracles this week: we went to the Family Mart (a convenience store that is on every corner, the most common convenience store besides the 7-11 in Taiwan). We always have lessons with our investigators on the 2nd floor. We went in and there was this guy staring at us a lot. We went up to the 2nd floor and saw that our investigator wasn't there. Normally we wait a few minutes to see if they show up, then leave after 5 or 8 minutes. I had a feeling we had to leave immediately. We walked out and the man that had been staring at us was no where to be seen. I felt a sensation pulling me to the right and I started sprinting. After like 10 seconds, I found the man who had been staring at us. He looked as surprised as I felt that we had found him. I told him we were missionaries. He asked us what we wanted him to do. I said read, pray, come to church and be baptized. He said ok how do I do it? So we prayed and gave him a Book of Mormon and set up a time to meet and he said he would be baptized when he feels God's love and that this is right. It was SO COOL. I truly have learned to follow the Spirit on my mission, a truly priceless gift.
In Chinese, Zion is XiAn. We have a street in our area called XiAn Xiang or Zion Lane. It is STRAIGHT up a mountain. So we walked straight up the mountain on the coldest rainiest day of the week and were singing and laughing the whole way. We found a family who lives in a place that reminds me a lot of YuLi. I love Sister Facer. We have definitely had our ups and downs, I have pushed her to work harder than she probably ever anticipated she would have to work and she pushed my patience to the limit at times. But we love each other and have inside jokes and she said to me this week "Sister Wright, please don't go home."
My dear family and friends, I miss you, but I don't want to ever go home. I love Taiwan and it is my home. I feel more at home here than I have anywhere else in my life. The people love me and I love them. My ward here is my family. They call me they're "most beloved sister missionary". I have changed lives here and my life has been changed. There is no more humble or hard-working or consecrated or dedicated people than the Taiwanese. They are kind and loving and strange and I love them. I feel accepted here and their culture has become a part of me....except for worshipping their ancestors that is:)
No matter where I have been, GuiShan or TaoYuan or Bade or YuLi or BeiTou, I have loved every second of every day. It has all been full of growth for me and for others. It will be impossible to ever describe how much this mission has meant to me. This next week is going to bring a lot of changes. I am grateful for the trust and confidence I have gained in my Heavenly Father. I still have so many weaknesses but I have grown so much. I will continue to write updates every week, if you are interested in still hearing from me.
I love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love love my mission in Taiwan.
I am a disciple of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I am called of Him to declare His word among His people, that they might have everlasting life.
Sister Wright (Taiwan Taipei Mission)
Rèn Jiěmèi 任曼欣姐妹
Rèn Jiěmèi 任曼欣姐妹
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