mom- you are so clever. put the date in the subject box of course. problem from last week solved.
the photos were so great!! holy cow- that trip to yangshuo looks like so much fun. we are so lucky to have these totally awesome experiences!! very few of my friends can say that they have been to the meiyou restaurant or the crazy glow in the dark cave. that is so cool!! yangshuo is such a cool place :) thank you so much for the package!! it was perfect and i don't think i have taken off those cashmere sweaters since i got them. they are so comfy and warm. and the jacket came just in time!! it has been raining and chilly the past couple of days. but oh so wonderful :) this week has been a good one. so much is happening. we actually decided to celebrate thanksgiving on the 30th.....no one is going to tell us otherwise. haha so our party is this friday night. we are really excited and so many miracles have come together because our wards are willing to attend and help. we had a pretty small budget and we were worried about getting turkey until we had a member call us and say he was willing to supply the money for the turkey (which is ridiculously expensive here for some reason). his reasoning was "who wants to join a church that doesn't even have turkey on thanksgiving? they'll eat the turkey and think- wow, this is good turkey; i want to learn more about your church." haha we are so grateful for him and so many other members. i feel so lucky to have this opportunity to serve them. we are praying so hard that many people show up and have a wonderful time. we're baking with some members and investigators tomorrow and i am so excited!! i haven't baked in so long. i'm so blessed to have this family away from home. my favorite memories are baking in the kitchen with my mom and sisters and this year i get to cook with my taiwanese family. i'm really excited. we have a little church tour set up as part of the activity where we're going to have several people explain the different auxiliary organizations in the church. we're really excited. our district is so great. the elders are so willing to help and serve us. the light broke off my bike a couple weeks ago and after church on sunday, i found that my zone leader had fixed it for me. i am so grateful for other's service. i am looking for the small things that i can do. i know that service is so important and that as we love people, we are doing the Lord's work.
the temple today was amazing. it has been so long since i have been there. it felt like coming home. the sisters there are angels. we were able to do a session and i felt so much love. i learn so much every time i attend the temple. this time i learned about how God directs us. He gives us the step by step. line upon line. as we accomplish what he asks of us and are accountable to Him, He will continue to direct us- give us the next step. i was really seeking peace at the temple. every week on the mission is so different and some days are harder than others. but God always lets me know He is there. i was praying in the temple and seeking direction on how to better keep the covenants i have made. the blessings God has promised us are so incredible. i was reminded today of how i am never alone. i don't have to rely on my strength because i have the Lord on my side. it's not my love that will help people change; it's His endless love through me that will touch others and allow me to be a tool in His hands. i have so much to learn and change---but that's the exciting part!! through the Atonement, we can be better and learn and progress. God is waiting to direct us; we need to listen to Him.
this week on sunday, i was having a hard day. after church i was praying and talking to God about what i needed to do better/what i want to change. i was feeling slightly lacking in direction and i was searching the scriptures for direction. as i was sitting there, a man in our ward whom i respect very much walked over and sat next to me. he asked me about the work, and i just opened up to him. He is the former mission president of GaoXiong. he was an answer to my prayer. we talked about how to help the people in our area need to see how the gospel can bless their lives. we talked about teaching people on their level- for understanding and relevance. i think a lot of taiwanese people see Christianity as an outside, foreign religion. we need to be able to bring the gospel into people's homes and help them see how their relationship with Christ can bless their lives. i have really strengthened my testimony of the Savior this week. i am coming to know Him and i want to help others see His hand in their lives. i know that God answers our prayers- he answered mine through a friend. Zhou dixiong (brother Zhou) told me how proud he was of me and how grateful he was to my parents for raising me. it was just the direction and encouragement that i needed. Christ through him is pushing me to make a difference. i want to be a better missionary and i want to turn this area around. i want to use my personality to serve God. our teaching pool right now is pretty small but i have faith that as we work hard and love these people, we will see success. i love this work. it is amazing to put on my badge every morning. i love it.
the president invited us to look for ways to serve this week and to pray for charity. i felt an increase of love for my companion and everyone in my area. these are our brothers and sisters!! i think of all the blessings i have received from knowing my relationship with God- there is so much power in knowing your are the beloved daughter of an almighty Heavenly Father. i want these women to know that and to feel His love. our investigator Lin JM is doing so well. she is keeping all of the commandments and reading through the book of Mormon and her family is so wonderful. she is having a hard time coming to church because of family visits and trips. but she is doing great. she's coming tomorrow to help us bake and get ready for thanksgiving. we're thinking about having a family home evening at her home- we're really wanting to help her husband see how this church can bless his family.
i think we need more direction on how to work with our wards. they are so willing to help in every way and i don't think we're using that to it's full capacity. i want to come up with a game plan with sister Vandegrift after our Thanksgiving activity for what we want to do to strengthen and bless our wards. i'm really excited for this activity and the holiday season in general. what a wonderful time of the year.
all my love as always. dearest family, you are my strength. i love you so much and i'm so blessed to have you all. i am grateful for the temple and the blessings of eternal families. what an amazing gift from our Father. i love you all
yours
sister Paige Newman
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