April 15th, 2013

GENERAL CONFERENCE IS THE BEST THING IN THE ENTIRE WORLD! 

i love this weekend and we have been counting down the days. i can't believe how fast it goes by. shortest 8 hours of my life. as i was listening to conference this time, i had the spirit bear testimony to me again and again that what the prophets and apostles were saying was true. i truly felt my testimony deepen and my desire to change increase. i love this gospel. it is simple and it is wonderful. i love how our leaders teach and direct and inspire us. i have been seeking to know how to be a better companion and leader and i was grateful to learn from their example. i know that this work is true! as sister xie and i discussed our investigators and our less active members, we found that their was at least one talk that answered their current concern. i am so grateful that some of them were able to come and see. its so sad that some people would choose not to come and limit their learning and progression. it's like president Monson's talk on obedience. and president Eyring as well. we are blessed as we make the simple choices and little sacrifices.

i love this ward and this area so much. the members are so excited about missionary work and all our leaders are so supportive. it's amazing how fast you come to love the people you serve with. i feel so blessed to have served in so many amazing areas. we have recently gotten lists from all the leaders of various families and members we can go visit and serve. i am so grateful for the nanzi member's love for their ward. it is like a huge family and they are all looking out for one another. there is so much love and joy. being a taiwan missionary is amazing.

i am so grateful for the spirit is this work. we were biking home last night and we had taken a wrong turn and as we stopped at a stoplight, i pulled over to talk to a woman. it turns out she was on the phone and usually, i would have just gone and talked to someone else. but i stayed and waited. even when the light turned. i don't know why. i just felt like i should. when she hung up we started talking and she has been seeking a church. she set up to meet with us on Friday. i love the people that God places in our paths. I love how He takes our plans and creates miracles. God will place us where we are needed most. i'm trying to not get upset with the "setbacks" or "wrong turns" that we make. i'm praying to see more clearly that God is truly in control. He is the Master and all things work out for good for those who love Him. i am so grateful for the example of parents who know and love God. 

i felt a deep gratitude for my family this conference. you guys are the BEST! we are so blessed. families are the foundation of this church. i love the families here in Nanzi. i was talking with some of the young women and they are so excited to be missionaries! they're only 14 but i am so excited for them. it's such a blessing to have a faithful family. i love you all. the greatest joy comes from being an eternal family.

i know this work is God's work. I know it is in His hands. i know He loves us. 

i love you all. keep the faith

love

sister newman  

April 8th, 2013

hello from gaoxiong! 
holy cow it has been an amazing week. i can't even believe all the miracles and blessings we have seen as we begin working in this area and with the nanzi ward. whitewashing is so fun! and i feel so blessed for all the help that we have from our mission leaders and our ward. its really great to feel supported. and my companion is amazing! sister xie is diligent and happy and we are just laughing all the time about how much we love gaoxiong. this area is amazing and we have what we call "the dream team". our ward leaders are so great! everyone is really excited about having sisters in the area and we are praying to know how to best serve them. we called our bishop the second day we were here and he immediately set up to meet with us. he is a relatively new bishop and a returned missionary. he has a lot of enthusiasm for the work. we are hoping to help many people feel Christ's love.

we had a cool experience as we have been planning nightly. the second day we were here, we didn't really have anything set up. so we found some less actives on the ward list and some formers. one of the last sisters we had set up was what we thought was a former investigator. we went and visited her and talked to her, and it turns out that she was a less active. we invited her to church and the spirit was so strong. she has a desire to come and she told us how she feels the difference between when she comes and when she doesn't come to church. our ward has been really great at continuing to fellowship her. it was a miracle because on sunday, our relief society president suggested we go visit her- and we already had. the spirit has really guided us. its amazing to realize how much we need to, and should, rely on the spirit. i am so grateful for the opportunity to open an area.

going to church on sunday was so great. we have a ward of about 105 people and the bishop has a goal for 120 by the end of the year. we are excited to help this area grow. Heavenly Father has given us this amazing clean slate and we are so grateful. we have a english group that meets in our ward building on sunday nights. we went last night and it was two Philippians sisters, two american members in our ward, and the missionaries. the elders blessed and passed the sacrament and then we had a short testimony meeting. the spirit was so strong and i am amazed at how this ward seeks to serve one another. i love the faith of the members here. we have so many families and so many members who have grown up in the gospel. i love seeing the church be established in TAIWAN. i love this place. we have an investigator who can't walk and has no transportation. we called a member in our ward and he was willing to drive her to and from church. they are so amazing. we are excited to get to know them and earn their trust. the missionaries have a great relationship with the ward. our bishop has a goal of every member doing an hour of missionary work every week. We are so excited to help him meet that goal. 

we contacted a man yesterday in the park who is Christian and started talking with him about church and Christ and the Book of Mormon. as we were talking with him, i realized once more how important our message is. only baptism and endurance in Christ true church can guarantee salvation. if we don't choose Christ's true church, it ultimately doesn't matter whatever else we have chosen. believing in Christ is not enough. Believing in God is not enough. we must be lifelong disciples of Christ, living His gospel daily. i love this message and i feel an increased desire to go share it. 

i love you all so much. i am grateful for all your letters and your support. and especially your prayers. the power of prayer is real. this work is God's work and i'm so grateful that we all have the opportunity to be a part of it. I heard general conference was great! i am so excited!! we are so blessed

i''m praying for you all. thanks for the pictures!! keep the faith

love

sister Newman 

April 1st, 2013

hey all!

move call day!! i'm in gaoxiong! i moved down south and i love it already! this place is amazing and the train ride down was beautiful. we missed the bus by about a minute but caught the next one. we didn't have a cell phone but it all worked out.  Heavenly Father is in control. i feel so grateful to be a taiwan sister missionary. this is the life. i'm now serving in Nanzi with Xie JM and we are whitewashing our area! so fun! nanzi has never had sisters before and we are so excited to start working with the ward and this area. i love it. i feel so blessed already. so many people have worked to prepare this area for us and the elders told us that we already have an investigator with a baptism goal. they are so great. they put the area book together for us and i just feel so grateful. God always puts people in our path to help us. it is so great to know that we dont have to do this alone. i feel so grateful to have this exciting opportunity. xie JM is adorable and diligent and i'm so grateful to be her companion. i'm now senior companion and i am just so grateful that Heavenly Father is in control. He knows our limits and our needs and He'll push us just enough to help us grow. it's like in Elder Hollands talk where he says to come to the edge. sometimes we're too scared of falling- but by coming to the edge, we can see miracles. i'm really excited for this area.

last week was so great! we had FHE with the ward my last night there and Tanzi really is such a special place. the ward talked about the importance of priesthood leadership and power. i am so amazed by the power of the priesthood here in Taiwan and all over the world. the husbands in Tanzi are strong leaders in their families, who direct and serve with love. i'm so grateful for the restored blessings of the priesthood. families are so wonderful and we're praying that we'll be able to strengthen the families here in Nanzi.

i'm so excited for General conference coming up! this is the best time of the year. happy easter everyone! it was really nice to not have easter so commercialized. it really helped me think about the real meaning of easter. i was teaching english to the little kids in our area on wednesday and we were talking about easter. fuhuo jie. they all knew the story of Jesus and they knew that THAT was the reason we celebrated easter. we talked about the miracle of resurrection and it just didn't even seem right to bring up candy and the bunny and all that stuff. it was wonderful to have a very simple, very focused easter. the kids were so cute! they basically taught the class. i just threw in a couple english words. haha.

in the scriptures this week, i found a scripture that i really want to apply to the rest of my mission. in alma 12:28-29 it talks about being humble and prayerful, being open to the Spirit, and developing Christlike attributes. the blessing of faith, hope, and charity are promised. this scripture really struck me as i read it on the train. i thought about all that i want to change in myself and the way i serve. and i thought about how simple change is. it's hard but it's simple. just keep praying, keep checking yourself, and keep relying on the Lord. i am determined to be a more happy, more prayerful, more grateful missionary. i love this work.

in my prayers this week i just felt very guided in planning for this next movecall. i set some goals and made some plans and pondered what i have learned- and what i still need to learn. i am so grateful for the spirit that prayer brings into my life. it just brings clarity and peace. and guidance. change starts with pray. everything should start with prayer. i love the pattern of prayer taught by elder bednar- having our morning prayers fulfill our evening prayers and visa versa. what an amazing blessing.

i feel so blessed to have the opportunity this movecall. i am so grateful for the opportunity to be a missionary. i can't even believe it sometimes.

i am so grateful for all of you. i had a moment of overwhelming gratitude this week for all those who helped me prepare for a mission and who are helping me daily. i'm so grateful to my family and friends. if it weren't for your support, i wouldn't have been able to come. thank you for supporting me and giving me this amazing opportunity. i just feel so blessed.

keep the faith

love

sister Newman

Paige's Address!! :D

Sister Paige Newman
404-46
Taiwan Taichung Mission
No 498-11 Wu Chuan Rd.
North district, Taichung
Taiwan, ROC