Another amazing week! - November 5th, 2012

Hello all! 

wow. every week is filled with little miracles and stories. i am so grateful for the Lord's hand in my life and for my increased ability to see that power. i am grateful for every person i get to talk to and every time i am able to teach and fulfill my purpose. today is the start of my second movecall. i have been thinking a lot about what i have learned these past 6 weeks (that went by very very quickly). i think overall, i learned the power of the little things. i have been working on memorizing scriptures and this one sums up how i am feeling. Doctrine and Covenants 64: 33. "wherefore be not weary in well doing, for you are building the foundation of a great work. and out of small things proceedeth that which is great." the Lord works moment by moment to help us know what to do. and we just go about doing good. i think missionaries often want the massive baptisms and the large miracles. but as we count numbers at the end of every day and think about all the people/experiences those numbers represent, i am so grateful for the small things that i am able to do. one day, those people that i talked to will know the truth and we will rejoice together. i can't get discouraged while i'm contacting- i have this joy that fills me as i view these people with a more eternal perspective. when we meet in heaven, we will remember that one time on da dun nan lu (a road) that i was able to talk with the spirit and they felt it for a moment. and that moment brought them closer to Christ. i love this work and i love the work of small and simple things.

we had an amazing halloween party at our english class this wednesday!! it was so much fun and our whole district had so much fun. the elders were really amazing as they taught about the traditions of halloween to the older participants. sister vandegrift and i handled the little kids with face painting, mummy wrapping, coloring oranges (carving pumpkins...?) and coloring pages. it was so much fun! i am so blessed to be here. we had one woman attend who we are starting to meet with tomorrow. after our spiritual share, she asked to take a Book of Mormon home. while talking to her, i learned she was from China! i get so excited every time i talk to someone from dalu. i love these people so much. the elders also really headed off the spiritual share. the Lord creates miracles out of our small efforts as we have faith and have no fear. elder Allen taught about the Book of Mormon for a minute and then we had a scripture scavenger hunt. we gave them the question and the reference and they wrote down the answer. i loved every minute of our party :) we ate "halloween pudding" afterwards- which sister V and i made that morning. haha. the whole day was an adventure.

halloween was the first day it rained since i've been here. i was so fun! i feel like such a greenie all the time but i hope that never goes away. every experience is exciting :) we biked up this super steep hill to visit and member and an investigator. we talked about prayer and the power of prayer. i loved feeling the power of the spirit bear testimony. we talked to her about praying everyday and the importance of keeping that commandment. we also shared an experience we had the day before. we lost our cell phone as we were going into a lesson and had no time to look for it at the moment. we were praying so hard and we got the feeling that we should go back to a park. we looked once and didnt see it. we went off to look at the church but the spirit led us back to the park where we found the phone. on the ground 3 hours after we had lost it. it was just starting to rain as we found it. i know that God hears our prayers and answers them. i have really learned about earnest sincere prayer this week. i have been being more open in my prayers and pouring out my soul to God. i have felt an increase of the spirit and an increase in direction. i have never prayed as hard and heartfelt as i have the past couple of days. i am wondering why i didn't pray more earnestly before. sincere prayer fills me with light and love and the spirit. i learn as i pray and i truly develop my relationship with God. He is our best friend and knows us better than anyone. i am so grateful for that. when you pray, talk with God. every prayer is different (every person/day/culture is different) and it can be such a personal, sacred experience. i love the power of prayer

i had the opportunity to meet with a long term investigator again. we read the scriptures together and i am so grateful for the spirit for guiding me. we were able to discuss her questions about prayer and the scriptures. i helped her set a plan to study the scriptures everyday. i am really hoping that as she starts this, she will see a change in her life and be ready to make some changes. the first time i talked with her, i was just really focused on trying to get her to think about baptism and i don't think my heart was in the right place. this time, i just wanted to help her in some small way. i just wanted to help her take that next step. God works with us line upon line and precept upon precept. i need to remember that in my teaching. I am grateful that God leads me by the hand and teaches me according to my needs. i need to be more that like kind of teacher.

our progressing investigator Lin JM attended a baptism this weekend with her two angel children. we love this family and we are fasting that we can get the husband involved in the teaching/learning. the baptism was beautiful and i felt the spirit so strong. Lin JM was able to meet so many women in the ward and we are excited to include them in the conversion process. She has so much faith and light and i'm excited for her little family. on saturday night we received a call from some other sisters that a progressing family is coming to our ward. they are all interesting in getting baptized. we are so excited to start working with them and help them on the road to enduring conversion. meeting them on Sunday was great! the daughter is so cute and i just love them. our wards, again, were so welcoming i feel so grateful for the miracles God puts in our lives. all success comes from Him and i am blessed to be a part of this work. i am learning so much about serving the Lord. i really feel like this mission is preparing me to be a life long disciple of Christ. Serving in the place we have been placed, in the calling we have been given is all Christ asks of us. i am grateful for the example of my family and of Lisa. you have been a wonderful dedicated YW president and i'm excited to see where the Lord will use you next. elder Eyrings talk at RS conference really helped me learn more about the power of being dedicated to our calling.

i love you all very much. it was great to hear about wang ayi. send pictures and tell her that i love her so much. send her to taiwan for a weekend and we can teach her :) haha i will love the opportunity we have one day to teach her and her family. i love these people so much and this work is going forth nobly. the new missionaries coming in will help us fulfill the prophecy that this gospel will literally flood the earth. i am grateful to be a part of this work my whole life long. Christ is at the head of this work but He is also with us individually as we seek to do His will. I hope everyone at midway was safe and had a wonderful time. i love you all more than words can say and i am grateful for your prayers and strength. i couldn't do this without you.

all my love.

sister Newman