July 17th, 2012 - 2nd letter

HELLO FAMILY!

week two down. I hope you are all doing very well. I'm sending some stuff snail mail so you should be getting that soon. how long does it take mail to get from provo to bountiful?? like a day?....

this week has been really great. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR MAKING MY BIRTHDAY THE BEST! i seriously could not have asked for a better birthday. thank you to the family for the ring (perfect), the hair comb(beautiful), the M&M's (much needed), the journal, the robe (lifesaver), the sticky notes, and the bubbles. thank you so much to dad- for the cookies (which i shared with my diqu (district?)) and for the note that was snuck into my suitcase. i love you all so much and i was overwhelmed by your love for me. it really was such a great day. my companion (SISTER CHORD :) sang happy birthday every 2 seconds and my district sneakily grabbed party hats and surprised me with singing and a card. they really are such great elders and we have really wonderful discussions. i feel like the difficulty with the language makes us more dependent on the Lord, which brings us closer together.

i had a hard day on friday. just one of those moments when you wonder if the Lord knows what He is doing. i want to testify that He does know. He gives us challenges and supports us as we strive to live His path. I know a mission will never be easy and moving or going to school may be overwhelming. but i also believe in 1 Nephi 3:7. God will provide a way to help us complete what we have been called to do. my teacher yesterday said that every time the spirit speaks to us, that is a personal commandment from the Lord for us at that specific time. He will give us the POWER to perform what He has told us, through the spirit, to perform.

my companion and i are getting along really well (sorry- i think i might have made some of you assume otherwise. i got many confused emails about that haha). we study really well together and our conversations flow. she is from washington and is studying astronomy at BYU. She is a support to me on days when i need it. but she also lets me be there for her. I often (usually) feel the spirit when we are talking about the gospel, or planning our lessons. she has a lot of insight and i love her. I'm learning how to work with another person. i don't know if you know this about me (haha) but i'm pretty independent and driven. its interesting to have to compromise and change (usually for the better) in order for us to have a united companionship.

we had an incredible fireside on sunday. jenny baker, a violinest, came and did a musical fireside. get her cd. do it. she is fantastic. also, while youre at it, look up the song "wonder" by mac wilburg. also look up the song "still
" or be still or something. it's from an efy cd...? It's about missionary work. send me the lyrics please. good. anyway, i sat in the fireside thinking- wow, how could i ever touch as many lives as she does with her music? i am amazed and inspired by her talent. i started wondering what talents God has given me that i can work on as much as she has practiced hers. living with Stephanie really helped me see the dedication musicians have to the talent they have been given. throughout the entire fireside, God kept telling me things, talents that i have and how i can use them. God is the master orchestrator. He has given us all talents and He knows what we must do in order for the music to flow. we just need to give Him our time and attention. He will guide us and help us be more than we could on our own. One of the elders in my district said "set goals that you KNOW you can't accomplish on your own." when we do that, we invite the Atonement into our lives and show God that we are ready to rely on Him. we show Him that we are ready to show the world His power. how else could little sister Newman be teaching the missionary lessons and reading the Book of Mormon in Mandarin? God is the center of my power. we are able to do all things because He loved us enough to send His Son.

i am amazed by the power music has here. as a district, we sing really well. we have a bass AND a tenor. some of the most sacred times are when we are singing. being here reminds me of the line "and Jesus listening can hear the songs i cannot sing." as i try to pray in zhong wen, Jesus understands all that I am saying as well as what i can't yet express. He knows the desires of my heart and blesses me. I know sometimes we don't know what to do, and sometimes we don't even know what the right thing to ask is. But i know that Jesus knows us. He knows us so well and as we bring our will in alignment with His will, we will be blessed.

preparation days are great. they are a much needed break. we wrote letters this morning and did a little shopping at the bookstore. most days, we are going pretty hard. no sleeping in. haha. but it is wonderful. i have been so blessed. the scriptures are a wonderful source of strength and peace for me.

ok- i need to work on my speed typing. sister chord definatly wrote like 4 times as much as me :/ sorry you got the short of it. thank you to everyone for their letters. it was really great to hear from Jaz beckwith and Shelby olsen. and Jason, and Lisa, and Deborah and my best friends- my family. My birthday was wonderful and i am so grateful i have an angel mother and a fantastic family. I really am overwhelmed. Kelly- can you send a thankyou to chanel for the cupcakes. tell her we sat in a circle with the other taiwan sisters and took turns passing each cupcake around and taking bites. haha I really love it here.

have a wonderful week! i love you all. keep sending me letters. it is a goal to respond haha

all my love and prayers,

Sister Newman (Li Jiemei)