December 30th, 2013

LAST P-DAY OF 2013! sister park has been planning what we want to do today all week. haha she's the best and being her companion is so so much fun. i'm so grateful that i get to serve with her. it's been great to have to really focus on those we're working with and what we're doing so that i can help her quickly get to know everyone and the area. she's a champion and we're having a great time

Christmas was FANTASTIC! it was sister Parks first christmas so when i told her that we weren't going to go exercise on wednesday and morning, she didn't understand that that meant we were going to INSTEAD open presents. haha she woke up and started studying untill i was like COME ON! LET"S HAVE CHRISTMAS! it was fun to be with her and just see the simple joys of christmas again. we spent christmas eve with our ward mission leader and his wife, Huang JM, who is getting baptized the end of january. we shared with her about the sacrament and the sabbath day. before we even started teaching, she told us how going to church with her husband and not shopping and not being busy on sunday has blessed her with strength and rest. she loves it. they are such a cute couple. Huang DX told us that he loves her coming to church because he's not alone anymore. AWWW. he was holding her hand and it was just really special. their relationship has really changed over the past couple of months and the Gospel is truly blessing their family. they are coordinating with their son, who is serving a mission in Taibei, to come down and help baptise his mother. sister Huang is truly a tender mercy from the Lord and she is so prepared. I am so grateful that i get to know her and teach her. she basically knows everything already, thanks to the faithfulness and love of her husband and sons. i love families!

in sacrament meeting this wee, the Tainan 2nd ward had 5 couples sustained as ward missionaries! they kept calling out the names for those to be sustained, which includes the bishop, his counselors, the stake president counselor and their wives. I am so excited to start working with these couples. I was really touched by the willingness of these members to accept another calling to serve, despite the fact that they all already have many other callings and responsibilities. this ward and area are amazing! the combined RS/EQ was all about missionary work and it is so great to see all the members reaching out to love and serve our investigators. it seems though, that every time missionary work is discussed in church, we have like 20 people come up to us afterward and invite us to eat with them. haha. i love it. i love these wards

we watched a conference talk with Kathy this week and she was really touched by president Monson. she has since then watched like 5 other conference talks on her own. she's been coming to church every week and just doing really great. we had dinner with her last night and she is just so great. she is praying to recognize God's answers to her prayers, as she is asking to know that Pres. Monson and Joseph Smith are called of God. she's going back to vietnam for a couple weeks in january but we are going to keep in contact with her. there are apparently NO lds branches in vietnam, which i didn't know. we're really praying for her. a less active vietnamese sister, Chen JM, came to church yesterday to get to know kathy! the whole less active family showed up and i'm so grateful that Chen JM has such desire to do missionary work. she hasn't been to church in about a month- it was a miracle.  

i'm doing really great. tainan is the best. sister park is amazing. Heavenly Father loves us. i love you all so much. seeing the family on wednesday was the best christmas present ever. you all are my strength. i love you all. you all look so gewd. we have the best family in the world. i am so grateful for your prayers and love and support. i feel it and i need it :)
all my love

Sister Newman