October 21st, 2013

Hello my dear family! 

it's been a really great week in Tainan. we had stake conference the past two days and the focus of the entire conference was hastening the work of salvation. missionary work is on the mind of everyone! we had a broadcast conference from Elder Holland and Elder Hales. they were addressing the entire asia area and it was so special. something that Elder Holland said that really touched me was "everyone you meet, no matter their current religion or belief, in the pre-existence knew Christ and bore testimony of Him. They have only forgotten. as we use the name of Jesus Christ, we will help our brothers and sisters remember their Savior. it will be familiar." they also bore testimony of the power of the Book of Mormon. there was a story of a Buddhist- Mongolian family that was being taught before the Book of Mormon was translated into Mongolian. the missionaries asked them the pray about the Book of Mormon and Christ. they asked how they could gain testimony of a book they have never read. the elders came back the next day with 3 Nephi 11:10 translated onto a little strip of paper. the family prayed about that ONE VERSE, received an answer to their prayer and was baptized 2 weeks later. the Book of Mormon is so amazing and i have really felt it's power this week. 

THIS WEEK HAS BEEN SO GREAT! we have had the opportunity to teach a couple new investigators that have just been so amazing. on friday, we were eating lunch and this woman comes into the resturaunt and in perfect english tells us that she wants to learn more about our church and how to help her family. oh. ok. she saw us and the sticker on the back of my bike (no success can compensate for failure in the home) and was interested. she just kept saying "i know it's no coincidence that i saw you. i know it's a sign" she came to stake conference and met the sisters for her area. teaching her was so amazing. we're still working on our teaching skills (always :/) but what was really great about that lesson was that i saw how much i needed to improve and despite my weaknesses as a teacher, she still felt the spirit and had a desire to learn more. Heavenly Father truly prepares the hearts of the people

i have never loved teaching the lesson of the restoration as much as i have recently! there is such power in the story of Joseph Smith and in the Book of Mormon. it's been really amazing to see that story and book change people's lives. one of my favorite lessons this week was with a Shi JM. she's 22 and a junior studying chemistry in college. she's so amazing. we taught her a full first lesson and extended a baptismal goal. she is planning on getting baptized on November 23. i love her so much. she came with us to stake conference this past weekend and liked it a lot. the spirit is so amazing. i'm so excited to help her continue to read the Book of Mormon and grow closer to Christ. 

we've got a pretty cool halloween party coming up this wednesday for english class. we're so excited! we also have a movie night where were watching the Joseph Smith Movie and making pretzels. we're really excited! we've got a lot of investigators who recently learned the story of J. Smith so we're really excited for them to know more about the start of this Church. it's going to be so great. i feel like recently my personal testimony of the restoration has been strengthened. i'm really grateful that Heavenly Father is giving me this opportunity. 

move call is this next week! we'll see what changes are in store :)

all my love

sister Newman 

October 14th, 2013

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BLAKE!! i love you so much and i'm so grateful for your example of faithful service. you and kenz are the best. i love you both. let them eat cake. and send me pictures

 

CONFERENCE WEEKEND IS THE BEST WEEKEND EVER! i loved it so much. i felt like it went by too fast and i could have just sat there listening for DAYS. i love listening to the talks about the importance of family, the necessity of enduring to the end, and the blessings that Heavenly Father has for those who put their trust in Him. i had written a couple questions down about things that i have been thinking about and Heavenly Father answered each one of them. it's so great to be a member of this church! 

We had THREE less active sisters attend conference this past week. one of them had cancer treatment at the beginning of this year and since then has not come to church very often at all. we had a meeting with the RS president and she talked to us about this sister's situation. we went over and got to know her, Chen JM, and she just talked to us about everything. it was so great. she's amazing. and then she attended all 4 sessions of conference. we have had so many great experiences in working with the less active members of our ward. i have felt so much love from them and i'm so grateful for those that are choosing to come back. they are wonderful.

we went over on saturday night to help a sister with cleaning her house. as we were talking, she told us how something that really touched her from conference was the fact that she should be praying for the missionaries and investigators by name. she made a POINT to say my name like 20 times that day haha- for some reason, the Lee just wouldn't stick and she kept looking at my badge. haha i felt so touched that she was planning to start praying for us and our investigators. she started talking to us about their situations and how she could help. as we were leaving her home, she told us that she wanted to help her family come into the church. we thought that family history might be a starting point to introduce her family to the Gospel. we are so excited to go share with her parents on friday! it's really amazing how the Lord is hastening His work and i am so grateful to get to be a part of it forever.

my companion is an angel. her name is sister johnson and she has supported and loved me so much this week. i am just really grateful for the companions and friends i've been able to have on my mission- right at the times i need them. I read a really great talk this week about making decisions and being true to the spirit and the answers we receive. i'm going to post the link and you should read it if you get a minute http://www.lds.org/ensign/2000/03/cast-not-away-therefore-your-confidence it's a Jeffery R Holland. it's good

Heavenly Father is so aware of us. He loves us and answers prayers. He does everything for our benefit. i am so grateful to know that He loves me. I am so grateful for a loving family- such great examples of missionaries in my life. i love you all so much

keep the faith

love

sister Newman

October 7th, 2013

I feel like every email home is either the end of the month or the beginning of the next month. time just flies by too fast and i can't even believe it's october. this week has been one of so many miracles and tender mercies. i have really come to SEE that the Lord knows me AND each of His children so personally. He is so constantly aware of us. 

we still haven't watched conference- that's this upcoming weekend. and it seriously feels like Christmas. i can't believe it's already that time of the year again. when octoberstarted, the weather all of a sudden decided to cool down. i'ts not really that cold but i have been spoiled with taiwanese heat for so long that it feels COLD. we left the chapel the other night and we were both freezing! 

there was a wonderful baptism this past saturday. Wu JM got baptized. i think i talked about her story a little in previous emails. her two older sisters are both solid members and one of the sisters spoke at the baptism. it was so tender. there is so much love and joy in this family. all three sisters are preparing to serve missions in the upcoming years. they call themselves the 'san ge chuan jiao shi jiemei' they are so great. i'll attach photos. i just always feel so blessed to meet these people and be a part of their lives. i was thinking about all the people i've worked with on my mission and i just had an overwhelming gratitude come over me. i love these people so much and i have been blessed by their friendship more than i could ever have imagined. being a missionary is such a blessing.

last week, we were waiting at a mcdonalds for a new investigator from english class. she is really special- her eyes just glow and she's so willing to strive to follow the spirit. herenglish name is sylvia. as we were standing outside, a woman nearby looked at us and started speaking to us in perfect english. she said that she had been baptized in our church when she was in australia. just 2 months ago!! and she had just gotten back to taiwan 5 days ago. she didn't know where the church was or who to get in contact with. Heavenly Father knew that we were going to be there and He arraigned for us to meet her. He knows that she needs support right now. we were just so amazed to bump into her! she really great and we're excited to keep helping her. she ended up helping us share about prayer with sylvia and teach with us about God. we're meeting with sylvia again this tuesday and i'm really excited. she is amazing

second really cool story. we had plans to go visit an investigator last night. when we got there and called her she had totally forgotten about our appointment. SO, we went and looked up a former's address. i felt a little lost at this point and was just really praying that Heavenly Father would guide us and help us use our time effectively. when we knocked on the former's door, her husband answered and said she was sleeping. as we left, we said a prayer and suddenly heard this violin music from one of the houses nearby. it was playing a really cute song. as we kept listening, the violin player started playing the tune "nearer my God to thee" we looked at each other dropped everything and went and tracted the door. a man came to the door and as we started talking, he told us that before he had been to our church. i assumed he had just visited or come to englishclass. as we kept talking, he started using words like 'branch' and 'bishop' turns out, him and his wife are both members!! they haven't come in a long time because their kids are busy with school. he asked us who the current bishop is and knows him!! it was amazing. we invited them to conference and we're going to start working with the bishop to see what we can do to help this family. Heavenly Father knows this man, Ye DX and sent us there that night to help him feel God's love. 

i am so grateful for all of your letters and support and love. i have felt God's love for me so clearly this past week. there have been some hard things but i have really felt His peace. i know that He loves His children. I can't think of a better feeling than being on the Lord's errand. Its been a really amzing week. i love you all so much and i'm so grateful for your love and prayers. i know that your prayers are blessing the lives of those we're interacting with. 

love

sister Newman 

September 30th, 2013

Happy last day of September! i can't believe we're already getting ready for our halloween party in english class again. i'm like having flashbacks to this time last year and all that was going on then. being brand new back then and NOW i'm the oldest sister in the district. it's a weird feeling. i'm learning so much from the sisters in my new area. my companion especially. she is such an example of charity and desire to help everyone at their own pace. she's been a real support to me through everything. i feel lik i have been so blessed companion wise. and in every other way. haha. all my areas and wards and districts and leaders and investigators have all been so amazing.

a sister Margaret was baptized this past friday. i'm so grateful for the opportunity to be here for her baptism. her faith is incredible. she originally met elders on mormon.orgchat and then she self-contacted them here at a 7-11. she told me that she used to be a person that did not believe in God and had no desire to be involved in religion. but she has changed so much. she used to WALK to church here every sunday morning until a member lent her a bike. now she bikes :) and every where she goes, she brings her Book of Mormon, or as she calls it "Mormon" she says she has this voice and feeling reminding her to "bring her Mormon" every where she goes. i'm so grateful for her example of daily reading and seeking answers. she is amazing. i have really seen in her true conversion. she is going back to idonesia today for a little while to renew her visa. we helped her look up some chapels in her area and where the closest temple is. i am so grateful that Heavenly Father allowed me to move here and meet her. His blessings and mercy are amazing. another sister is getting baptized next week- Wu jiemei. this is amazing

we just went hiking this morning with the bishop's wife. it was so great to get up early and go! being out in nature was so great! i'll attach some pictures! i love the ward here. i'm in the 2nd ward- we go to a different chapel than the 3rd and 4th ward...but maybe it's changed since Jennifer was here. our chapel is in Dong Qu. this week we had the miracle of 3 less active sisters coming to church. seeing those women there was so amazing. the power of the spirit is real and it our area is REALLY SMALL! they say it's the smallest in the mission. which is pretty fun. tainan is such a great place. the weather is cooling down ad i'm wondering if fall is actually on its way. that would be wierd. it's been hot for a long time

i had a really great experience this week in one of our lessons. sister Johnson had prepared something from a liahona edition for margaret talking about feeling the spirit and getting answers to prayers. when we arrived and started talking with her, she started asking questions about how God answers prayers and how she can know that the answer is from God. we were able to share with her what we had learned THAT MORNING. Heavenly Father had prepared us to answer the questions that He knew she had. i know that Heavenly Father knows each of us so personally. the best feeling in the world is to find out that you have been an answer to a person's prayers. we don't always get to see the end from the beginning. but as we keep trying to follow the spirit to serve Heavenly Father's children, He will guide us and bless others through us. but really, i feel like i'm getting way more than i'm giving. He is so merciful. 

i love this mission! i know that Christ is directing the work all over the world. our mission president has talked about the vision for our mission. we are working on establishing more stakes in Jiayi, taizhong and gaoxiong. and then taiwan will be prepared for another temple. the field is white!! it's so exciting to be a part of this work. i love you all. thank you for the pictures and the emails! you are my support and i feel the power of your love. thank you so much

all my love

sister Newman