Transfers and Typhoons!

 















Hello everyone!! This week was transfers and Sister McKim left on the 27th!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  We were honestly so surprised because we thought we would be staying together for one more transfer, but my new companion is Sister Eyring. She's from Boston, Massachusetts but moved to Provo for high school! She is just out of breaking so I am two transfers ahead of her which means I am the senior companion. I was freaking out when I saw the transfer call and was like I CAN'T BE A SENIOR COMPANION. It is very different, my reading skills are sub par but just wait....they'll improve hahaha. Anyways, her bike hasn't gotten here yet so we have been walking and using the MRT for the past four days! Let's go to the miracles!

This week:

One of the coolest things happened last Monday, we get this phone call from this girl named Joanne and she's like...are you the Xinzhuang missionaries? And we are both super confused but we are like yes! She said that her friend had told her about our church and she wanted to learn more and how it could help her life! So we were like can you meet on Wednesday? She's like I have to check my schedule but you can call later tonight. So night time comes and we were doing some other calls when Joanne calls us and she's like hey I can do Wednesday! She's so prepared guys...so so prepared. We taught her the first lesson and set her on a baptism date! She's like can we make every Wednesday our meeting day cause that's my day off and yeah she's just doing so well.

Heavenly Father has blessed us so much this week, this week we were able to set five new baptismal dates!! With people that are doing pretty solid and are on their way to baptism!! One was this former named Chen Jia Yi, I had heard a lot about her and how she wouldn't answer her phone, but I have been inviting her to every activity we have had since I have been here in Siyuan and then she ended up coming to our Musical Fireside! We have been meeting with her ever since and it's been going really well. 

Also 劉姊妹 (Sister Liu) got baptized on Wednesday and I was able to hear her testimony and it was so amazing, she's so different from the first time I met her. There's no way to explain how much she has changed, she's so much happier. 

Li Jia Ling has to postpone her baptism, some weird things are happening but we are hoping we can help her find her way back and remember why she wanted to get baptized! Other than that this week was pretty ordinary!!

Nonspiritual thoughts:

We went hiking near Neihu last pday and it was literally so so hot. I am talking like it felt like my own body was baking itself in the sun. Sister McKim and I tried to take cute pictures but like...it was not happening. Our faces are so red cause it was so hot.

So this dog came into this 7/11 when we were done hiking and all of us just looked at it and were like...SAME. It came in to the 7/11 because of the AC and to just lay there in the cool air. All of us have never connected to an animal as well as this dog.

The 王家庭 (Wang family) also treated us out to a steak place and it was so fun. 

The typhoon hit us in Taiwan but it was way smaller than Sister Eyring (my new companion) and I expected. We were just waiting for this massive storm to hit but all we got was a bit of rain and lots of wind! I hear the East got hit harder, but it wasn't that bad here in Siyuan!!

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趙姐妹

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Sister Tiffany Chao

Taiwan Taipei Mission

4/F, #24, Lane 183

Jin Hua Street

Da-an, Taipei 106

Taiwan

Literally such a GOOD week!

okay the week was seriously soooooo gooooooood. It was full of ups and downs as always but yesterday it ended on some good notes. 

Transfers are this week and I am hoping that our district stays the same for one more transfer. Siyuan is on fire right now!! (figuratively....well and literally because it is SO HOT) 

     

This week we have been trying so hard to really see some more miracles in our area. Our district has really been trying to help our ward see how much effort us missionaries are putting into the work. First off....Li Jia Ling is probably getting baptized this Saturday!!!!!!!! We met with her on Thursday at the building of a member in our ward, we went in with the mind of sharing the word of wisdom and the law of chastity. We (okay I think just me) was scared about what she would think about these commandments. I remember the first time we met with her and she straight up said (before we had even really started teaching her anything), "I heard that your church doesn't drink tea...I can't give up tea, I need it for my health." We assured her that we would tell her more about it later and that to not worry. We really tried to help her understand the blessings of following the commandments and to help her see that it would help her rely on Christ and it wouldn't be just her giving up tea but Christ helping her overcome something she thinks she has to rely on. Once she understood how Christ would be there to help her she was more than willing to keep the commandment. We then asked her about how she felt about baptism since her goal is the 29th of July and she still had quite a few commandments to go over. She said firmly, I want to be baptized. So we told her we would do all that we could to help her. We were trying to figure out days we could meet with her, fit in an interview, and help her feel ready. Our member then jumps in and is like do you have a lesson after this? We then told them no since they cancelled, so the member is like well keep teaching! We ask Li Jia Ling if it's okay and she was okay with it, so right then we just kept going and taught her tithing and fasting! We have our last lesson today and then she gets interviewed tomorrow. I can't tell you how much faith this girl has, she has literally shown so much progress from the first time I met her. The gospel has given her so much hope, so much happiness in the future. That's what I love about this gospel, it took a girl who was lost and unhappy and turned her into a girl that relies on her Savior and that has hope for the future!

Gao Pei Yi is also doing literally amazing! She has been so willing to meet with us (she saw her four times in one week people. I am talking she is literally so amazing) and then we brought in the hard part for her....church. It is really early and so we were trying to help her understand why church was so important. So we called her on Sunday at 8 am and she woke up and then 8:40 we met up with her and walked with her to church! The ward was amazing and helped her feel so welcomed, she had such a good time, she shared in class, and then even stayed for an activity afterwards. She is really set on baptism, so as soon as she comes to church three times she will get baptized!! She has really gotten to know who her Heavenly Father and her Savior is and she has made so much progress since I first met her! I am so happy people...so happy.

Also, the fireside went super well! The members' talks really helped investigators and the musical performances brought the Spirit so strongly!! We had a total of about 10-11 investigators there (all the missionaries in Xinzhuang of course) and it was so cool!!!!

Yesterday night at 10:20 we get this call and Sister McKim and I are super confused with who it was. Suddenly they said I have to tell something to Sister Chao and I'm like....who are you. Then they say... 劉姊妹 (Sister Liu) IS GETTING BAPTIZED. and I'm like...SISTER AUSTAD??!?!?!?! That's right everyone!! My investigator from 汐止 (Xizhi) is getting baptized this Wednesday!!!!! I remember my first time meeting her, it was one of my first days in Taiwan and we were going to teach her the Plan of Salvation. I was so scared because I had no idea what I was doing but I had a feeling that she was going to be baptized later. I just felt so good about her when I first met her. She was going to be baptized my last week in training, but she got caught up with work and saw some bad stuff about our church and so she cancelled last minute. Sister Austad and I were heartbroken, but we kept up our faith in her and prayed so hard for her and now she is getting baptized!! She has changed so much and I am talking so much, I saw how unhappy and lost she was, she truly was a lost and stressed mother but she has learned how to rely on her Savior and to trust in Him. She has had to trust in Him when she herself could not do it alone. Her daughter is also planning on getting baptized on her birthday! I am so happy people!!

Nonspiritual thoughts:

WPS gets long and rough sometimes so we edited some pics while we were at it. So my companion is now an ice cream stick and a piece of bread.

 

a pic of 劉姊妹 (Sister Liu) and her daughter. This was when we dropped off presents for Guonian and so we took pictures with everyone. I remember when one time she was so busy that Sister Austad and i bought super expensive strawberries and ditched them with their security guard to give to her. 

Then we had this bug on our ceiling and so Sister McKim decided to throw her shoe at it until it died, but it fell on the floor and we don't know where it went so we just stomped around until we thought it was dead.

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趙姐妹

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Sister Tiffany Chao

Taiwan Taipei Mission​

4/F, #24, Lane 183

Jin Hua Street

Da-an, Taipei 106

Taiwan