sorry i'm a couple days late. move call was crazy but so so good. i have moved! moving is crazy. the last week in nantun was a little rough. my companion Chu JM was sick and we spent alot of time in side. her resting and me calling phones. it's really easy to go crazy when it's just you and the area book and the phone. haha but it was good. i learned how to dial numbers with my left hand while i practiced writing characters with my right hand. yup. AND we got a lot of good adds for new investigators. i feel really good about my time in nantun. i love that area and those wards. my last day was hard- saying goodbye to all my taiwanese mothers in the nantun and zhongming wards. i love being a missionary. you just have a special bond with the members and with the people. i feel so blessed to have been 'born' in nantun. it is the yingxu di. i feel like from my experience their i learned a lot about working with the ward. i am really excited about my new area- TANZI (refereed to as tan-zion by the missionaries) this ward is apparently wonderful and working with them so far has been so fun! they are so willing to help us shang ke and feed us. my new companion is sister giraud-carrier! she is french and is the most incredible person and missionary. she is literally amazing. i went on sister exchanges to this area with her about 2 weeks ago- i guess it went so well that president decided to put us together. i was really so happy when i found out that i was going to be able to have a chance to serve with her. she is so diligent and has an amazing ability to just use the power of the gospel to accomplish goals and change. i have been really inspired by her. and we still have 5 weeks together.
moving was crazy like i said. i don't know how my luggage got so heavy! i really haven't bought THAT much since i came to taiwan. but i had a really hard time fitting everything in my bags (shout out to lisa and austin- thank you so much for that luggage. i am so grateful for you both. LISA i got your letter. i love you). so my bags weighed a ton. my new apartment is a 4 sister apt so it's basically a sleepover every night. just kidding. but we do have fun. the other companionship is a sister training a girl who just came on the island this week. holy cow. it's crazy to think of how far i have come. i'm already on my 4th move call. i can't believe it. time is going by so quickly and i'm just trying to use every moment. i have been really thinking about my new years goals (duh a little late there sister newman) and also about my move call goals. i really want to run a 5k. i know. random. and i also want to finish 1nephi at least in chinese characters. i'm still thinking about that one- it's taken me forever to get through the testimony of the witnesses haha)
visiting the temple today was amazing. i was really pondering and praying about our investigators in this area. we have a goal for baptisms in the month of febuary and i am so excited to see how we can help these people come unto Christ. i love teaching so much and testifying of the gosple. it is the most amazing feeling. i also had an epiphany in the temple (it's a good place for those). i have been feeling kinda down on myself and just feeling like i should be doing more, or like i wasn't seeing as much progress in myself as i wanted. and in the temple, the Lord just really calmed my heart. He helped me feel peace and realize that i have so much time left. He gives us so many chances- every day is a new chance to improve and progress. we should never be discouraged if we are trying hard and improving in some way. the power of the Atonement is amazing. i still have 8 move calls!! and then eternity! i love the idea of eternal progression. i need it. the only thing that can stop us from progressing is ourselves. sister GC has really helped me see how to invite the power of the atonement into my goal setting and into our misisonary work. i know that we are going to see miracles. i am so grateful for her
the pictures that dad sent from "taiwan-ningbo trip 2013" look like so much fun! every one is so beautiful. sister GC and i were just wondering if it's because we're not there anymore that our families are so cool. sorry i have held you back for so long.
i love you all so much. continue to look and pray for ways to serve. they will come and you will be amzed. keep the faith
i love you
sister Newman
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