Dear Family
thank you so much for the little package! the cliff bars are delicious and i'm grateful for dad's sacrifice. i know it will bring forth the blessings of heaven. mom and carli- thank you for the tape. it was so great to hear about life and what's good. and CARLI HOLY COW YOUR POEM IS FANTASTIC! i am inspired and amazed. you get more and more talented every time i hear about you! life is so good being your little older sister. i look up to you so much girl.
ok....so this week was crazy. i feel like i say that every week. and it's the honest truth. this week, because of exchanges, we spent 3 days NOT in our own area. haha wednesday after exchanges, we traveled home in time to have dinner and then head off to Zouying to teach english. on thursday, we had leadership council in Taizhong so spent all day traveling and attending THAT stressful meeting (haha but lunch provided by the mission president's wife was FAN-TASTIC). it was good to receive counsel from President Bishop about how to better set the example that our missionaries need. i started thinking about all the examples i have had in my life and on my mission. each of you came to mind. i love you all so much and i'm grateful for our family. being in a sister leader is really great because i feel like we can help these sisters just by setting a good example and loving them. i feel like that is how life is- the best we can do for others is to inspire them by being our best and love and be inspired by them for being their best. on thursday, we hopped on a train and traveled down to chaozhou. it's the farthest south sister companionship. it took us about an hour by train to get down there and by the time we arrived, it seemed sort of pointless for me to travel back to Nanzi with sister Tsoi. So we just split up the area and the rest of the lessons for that day and all four of us preached the gospel in ChaoZhou! i was really great to be with sister Tsoi- she's a new missionary and is just so sweet and humble (the exact opposite of what i was as a trainee.....haha) sister tanner and i ended up sleeping on the floor of their apartment that night and doing companion study with all four of us the next morning was really great
this week i have just been seeking to be the answer to some body's prayers for that day. i have really seen how God answers my prayer through others and knows my needs. He is so aware of us. for instance, on monday, sister tanner was having a really hard day and i just wasn't as good of a support as i could have been. im not the best companion sometimes. but i was praying so hard that she would have something happen that help her be happier. a few minutes later, one of her best friends on the mission (previous companion) called with a referral for her and they were able to talk and laugh for a minute. i am so grateful for Heavenly Father for answering my prayer. i just always want to be ready to be the answer for someone else. i have really felt like the Spirit has guided us in our teaching recently. i love teaching with sister tanner. we biked all the way out to our secondary area and had a lesson with a member's wife. he is the ward clerk and has been baptized since he was 19. they have a little son. as we were teaching her, i just felt the power of this man's prayers in behalf of his family. he was so nervous and a little awkward as we were teaching- haha he just wants an eternal family so badly. as we were talking we were prompted to share about Christ and how His gospel can change us. she started crying and saying that is what she wants- to feel like she is changing, progressing, growing. i know that the spirit guided us in that lesson and she came to church the next day!! with her husband and baby. we are so excited to see them grow closer to each other by growing closer to God.
i was praying really hard yesterday for an opportunity to serve the members of our ward. we have a sister that comes in the evening and we hold an english sacrament meeting. she's from the Philippians and is so wonderful. she recently went to the temple and received her endowment. during the closing song of the english meeting, she just started crying. we were able to talk with her about some health problems that she's been having recently and just comfort her. she's getting a blessing from the elders today. that prayer was answered not in the way i expected. but it's the way Heavenly Father needed. im trying to
you know, most of the time i am a pretty optimistic person. i love this work more that anything and it makes me so happy. being on the streets talking with people and being in lessons seeing people light up when they hear about the gospel is such an amazing experience. i am so grateful to Heavenly Father for allowing me to come serve a mission and become better. and sometimes, it's really hard to see the progress and to see the product of every day. i think that is where faith and hope come in. sometimes it can be a little discouraging to be working hard everyday but just when it seems too hard or too long, Heavenly Father gives you a boost and a blessing. i got a call from Chen JM(my previous companion in TanZi). she told me that one family, whom we tracted into and started teaching got baptized this week!! and another family, that was less active when i was there, is now working to help their son get baptized! wow. i am just so grateful to Chen JM and to Heavenly Father for letting me see the fruits of my efforts...not like either one of those baptisms can really be attributed to me. but i am grateful for the small part i was able to play. this work is so amazing. being a member of this church is amazing. i am so grateful for the blessings of the Holy Ghost in my life that help me as i am humble. i am striving to get to the point where i don't have to see the result of following a prompting of the Holy Ghost. just serve and love and work with no thought of reward. i love the people that Heavenly Father has placed in my life and is continuing to place in my life. I love you all individually. i miss you like crazy and i'm grateful for eternal families.
i love you all. keep the faith
sister Newman
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