HAPPY 11/11!!! this week has been so great! being with sister packard in Tainan is so fun and we are loving the work. i feel like i have been made very aware this week that Heavenly Father hears and answers prayers. i love it! i feel like i have been able to see HIS hand in the work- as things and plans dont go the way WE planned, they go better!!
on saturday night we had made plans to go visit a less active sister (Zheng JM) who lives a little ways away from the church. we had tried to call her all day but could not get a hold of her. we said a prayer to know how to most effectively use our time that evening. we were calling phones, setting up some lessons, when a different less active sister (Qiu JM) called us and invited us to come to her home, meet her daughter and eat some homemade bing. Qiu JM miraculously came back to church last month after 20 years of being less active. so OFF WE GO! it was great! the daughter is so special and we were able to talk with her a little about her hopes for the future and how Christ can help us overcome all things. we had visited Qiu JM early in the week and just before we left, she had told us how badly she wanted to help her children come to church. i felt so much love from her for her children. i see in her true conversion- she knows that the gospel is what she needs and she is doing those things to come back. and now she wants to share it! i love being with mothers and seeing the love they have for their children. as we were leaving her home on saturday, we were debating whether or not to go visit the Zheng family. the elders suddenly called us and told us that there was a meeting with us and the leaders in our ward to update addresses and phone numbers on the ward list. so OFF WE GO! as we pull into the chapel, THERE IS ZHENG JM! she came with her family to practice for the primary program in sacrament meeting. i am so grateful that Heavenly Father guided us and that we didn't bike all the way to her home to find that she was not there.
Another way the Lord has guided us this week was on sunday. on wednesday, we made cookies for some members of our ward. there a many families that have recently experienced either a death or sickness in the family. we planned to drop off the cookies and a note and give some people cookies on sunday. we had some time on sunday and we were thinking about planning in time to go drop off cookies at Xie JM. it didn't really feel right, so we just planned to give her some at church. she didn't show up at church so when we went back to the apartment for lunch, we brought the cookies up and put them in the fridge. on our way out the door to our next appointment, i just had the little thought to bring the cookies just in case. we biked over to the hospital where we go singing every sunday for an hour. as we were biking away from the hospital, i see Xie JM on her scooter riding right next to us! we stop and pull over to the side. she started crying as she told us she was JUST at the hospital visiting her father who has cancer. His condition is worsening and she had just been praying on her scooter that Heavenly Father would comfort her. then she saw us. we gave her some cookies and said a prayer with her on the side of the road. i felt Heavenly Father's love for her so strongly and i know that all three of us were strengthened in our testimonies that Heavenly Father hears and answers prayers. He knows His children and lets us serve one another. there is no better feeling than being on the Lord's errand. Just go about doing good and you will bless lives!! that's the purpose of this life- to prepare ourselves and others to meet God. we can help Heavenly Father's children feel His love as we pray for opportunities to serve. i love it!!
i love the unity that sister Packard and i are having. there have been so many moments or lessons that as we talk about them afterwards, that we say that what the other person said was exactly what we were thinking about saying! does that make any sense? i am just really grateful for the spirit that is in our lessons. we had one lesson with a sister named miki- shes a collage student. i had had a rough day the day before and in my prayers that night, just really talked with Heavenly Father about my concerns and thoughts. i went to bed feeling so peaceful and so grateful for the power of prayer. in our lesson with Miki the next day, she asked us HOW we receive answers to our prayers. how do we REALLY KNOW? i was able to share that experience from the night before with her and testify that He hears and answers prayers. i am so grateful for the challenges or problems that i go through that are able to help others. Heavenly Father is always aware of us and is always preparing us. as we turn to Him we are then able to turn out and bless others. that lesson with Miki was really special as sister packard continued to bear testimony of prayer and Christ's love for us. it wasn't what we planned, but the feelings of the spirit was so strong. Miki agreed to come to church and FHE on sunday and she came. shes praying for more direction in her life and i'm so excited to see her progress. she so adorable. i am so grateful for the spirit and for an amazing companion who is so in tune. sister Packard is really helping me grow. i love her
i love you all so much. i am so grateful for our eternal family and i'm praying for you. you are my heroes.
love
sister Newman
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