Only Three Weeks to Go!

well, its preperation day again. there is seriously a time warp here at the MTC. The days seem really long but then before i know it, it''s tuesday again and i get to write home to my family :) mom and dad- i got both of your letters yesterday. thank you so much! i loved hearing about the family and mom''s canal escapade. china is always an adventure! mom- i hope you're up to date on all your shots.....don't get some funky canal-disease on me. i was so happy to hear that you're now in our new house!! and with a new puppy! the pictures were so cute! and carli was cute too i guess...send pictures of the family whenever you can. i love seeing everyone! so davis starts seminary. i love the thought of him riding in a little scooter gang that early in the morning. haha davis- you will love it. i loved seminary and having it early in the morning really started my day off right. it will be fun :) when we sacrifice for the Lord, He blesses us in the biggest ways. what scriptures are you studying this year? how are classes going for everyone? how are the other kids at the school? and most important... how's rugby? :) i'm a little jealous. and really excited for all of you. i love you too. mom i loved hearing about all the people you get to interact with. it just makes me anxious to get back over to asia and be talking to and loving the chinese/taiwanese people. it is the people that make a place wonderful. you and dad have inspired in me a love for all people. i'm so grateful for all the times we have moved and all the opportunities i have had. 

I'm so excited for everyone starting school! it is going to be a wonderful semester. i am praying and fasting for all the cousins going into a new semester. you all can do it. i'm thinking right now about each of you and what wonderful examples you are to me. if i can see how amazing you are, think of how much more Christ sees in you. He knows you're potential. pray to Him and let Him guide you. those days when i am closest to the spirit and the Savior are the days i am happiest. make time for the spiritual things that matter. 2 nephi 32:9 sanctify this semester to serving Him and He will bless you.remember to read your patriarchal blessing. that is personal revelation to you for your life. take advantage of that guidance from God.

dad- travel safe. i guess this is your last time to warn the people in taiwan that i am coming....haha. i am so excited i get to share the blessings of serving in taiwan with you. you will understand my experiences more than anyone and i'm so grateful you are my daddy and i am your daughter. you are a wonderful example. i thought we were moving to china so you could be with the family??!! what happened to that idea ;) i'm so grateful you are a hard worker and have helped me know what i should seek in a husband. you are the best dad ever. i shared some of your last letter with my zone jiemeimen and they all love you.

lisa- thank you for the luggage!! kelly- thank you for dropping it off. it is perfect. all the elders in my zone were super curious as to why i was getting called to the front desk. that luggage really is a blessing. i got to throw that ugly purple thing away- haha. but before i did, i searched through all the pockets and found a note and earrings from mom. haha! thank you so much mom! i think i was supposed to get them 9 weeks ago but i got that note right when i needed it. thank you mom for your support and love and confidence. wow- i wish i was as wonderful as you think i am. haha i love you so much and i'm so grateful for the little service you do that makes everyday special- even when i am apart from you. thank you for your constant love.

we did a session at the temple today and i was wondering if anyone has a blake/newman family name that i can do either here or in taiwan. it would just be special for me to have that opportunity to serve my ancestor as a missionary. so if anyone has one, send it to me and i would love to do it. the temple is amazing. i was thinking today about the covenants we have made. the baptismal convenant is the door to salvation. God wants all His children to be saved; however, He has so much more than that in store for us. He has exaltation and eternal life with our families. He leads us the baptism, but that is not the end. He brings us to the temple, where we recieve so many blessings and such strength and knowledge. but that is still not the end. He keeps giving us more and more and calling for us to continue on this path. we are able to be sealed to our true love for time and eternity. He blesses us with the ability to have families in the etenities. life is so sweet and filled with so many blessings. my family is the greatest blessing in my life. we have been sealed and if we continue following Christ, God will bring us home to Him. How great the wisdom and the love of our eternal Father. He has so much planned for us- in this life and the eternities. i am so grateful to be an instrument in His hands in helping and inviting people to start on the path of salvation and exaltation. and i'm so grateful my parents are engaged in this cause as well. just love the people. just know that the gospel can bless thier lives and seek to be a good influence. pray to know who to talk to and what to say. then act on the promptings

elder neil l anderson talked to us last tuesday devotional. He said so many wonderful things but his testimony touched my heart. he bore a solemn witness of the Savior. there were moments when it felt like he was looking right at me. i know that our prophet today holds all the keys of the priesthood. i know the apostles are called of God as one of 12 men called to witness of Christ. i know that our church is the only chruch that can offer salvation and exaltation. we know the way. we have been taught in our youth. i know that Christ leads this church through revelation and inspiration. He is the rock of our salvation.

i love you all and i'm praying for you. your names are being prayed for in the provo temple. i am so grateful for your support.

all my love,

Sister Newman Li JieMei

ps if Stephanie Maynes is reading this.....you should make it to mandarin TRC sometime! we have it on saturday morning and i would love to see you. and you will love it!! teaching at TRC is the best thing ever.

Paige's Address :)

Paige's address is still the same :) just so everyone knows.


Sister Paige Elizabeth Newman
MTC Mailbox # 96
TAIW-TCG 0920
2005 N 900 E
Provo, UT 84604

she should be leaving the MTC in early September, i'll send her new address as soon as i can. but in the mean time, you should write her! 

4 more weeks in the MTC!

Aloha!....ok kai wan xiao...you all know i'm not going to Hawaii. I heard though that before the MTC, all far eastern missions would report to hawaii for training. what happened to THAT idea??

this week has been really great. i realized that after today, i only have 2 more Preperation days and then i'll be on a plane early Tuesday morning the 18th to taiwan. Wow. that just seems so strange that the time has gone by so fast.

i got a dearelder from dad yesterday. I LOVE THAT OUR FAMILY IS PLAYING RUGBY! haha you will all have to teach me. it sounds like things are going well and that you are not getting the same "roughing it in tainjin" experience like our first time to china was. i am still so excited about mom and dad's calling. wow- please tell me more about the work you are doing and how spreading the gospel is going. we learned from Elder Bednar this week (it was a devotional rerun) that becoming a missionary is a lifelong pursuit. we have been foreordained to take this gospel to all the world. i'm really striving to make goals here on my mission and develop habits that i can continue to practice even after i am released. i am so grateful for so many friends and family members that are righteous examples of RM's. Elder Bednar said that we may leave the mission but the mission should never leave us. so it's my new goal to be an awkward, overly energetic RM for the rest of my life. i hope i can always be doing the Lord's work.

sister chord and i were just at the temple. we got to perform sealings today. wow- it reminded me of being in the St 

George temple with Grandpa Blake. That was such a sacred experience and i'm so grateful i was able to spend that time with them before my mission. Being in the sealing room helped me gain a more eternal perspective. Heavenly Father is so merciful and He is seeking to bless us. we get so caught up in daily life that sometimes we fail to see how He is trying to communicate with us. in 3 nephi 11:3-5 it talks about how God was trying to speak with the surviving Nephites. He is speaking clearly the entire time- there is nothing faulty in how he is communicating. the reason they can't hear is because there is something wrong with the way they are LISTENING. it is only when they seek to understand and know that they are able to hear His voice clearly. the same is true for us. we can choose what we are focusing on. here at the MTC, i have really been working on noticing the Lord's tender mercies in my life. and the more i seek, the more i see. He is desperately trying to speak to us. but we must come unto Him, guixiang YesuJidu. it is wonderful to know that however feeble our first attempts to come unto Him are, He will run to us and succor us and HELP us come unto Him.

we were taught in relief society this week by sister Mary Cook of the young women presidency (wow i love the young women program!!) she was just the speaker i needed that day. she talked about the redeeming and enabling power of the atonement. the redeeming power frees us from sin and allows us, as we diligently repent, to be free from sin. the enabling power allows us to become so much more than we could ever become on our own. we all have things in our life and personality that we need to change. these things may be habits we have been stuggling with for our whole lives. through Christ, we can have the power on a day to day basis to overcome those habits and characteristics. we can receive His enabling power in our life that helps us sustain good works that we could not sustain on our own (bible dictionary- GRACE). after lunch, i get pretty tired here. haha it is harder for me then to stay focused or motivated. putting the atonement of Jesus Christ into effect, i pray so hard that i will have power beyond my own to do His work. and He gives it to me. as i push myself, He gives me the strength to overcome. this life is hard. we all are constantly dealing with struggles or emotions or kaoyan. everyday is hard. but everyday is so joyful. Christ gives us power everyday through His atonement to press forward. and as we feel His influence in our life, nothing is impossible. i am so grateful for my Savior and the hope He brings to this life. the temple is a wonderful place and i am so glad our family is forever. i am SO excited to, not only lead people to baptism, but also to the temple. there, they can receive God's greatest blessings and feel so close to Him. I am excited to teach people about eternal families and help them see the mercy of God.

this week, sister Chord and i had so much fun. i love her so much and i am grateful for her friendship. we just talk and laugh and we spend so much time serving one another. i am really learning about how people are watching you all the time. especially as a missionary. and as members of this church. we have taken upon Christ's name (i feel blessed to wear that name on my tag) and we have made covenants with Him. we change and influence so many lives when we obey those covenants. when we work hard to be disciples, we motivate others to be better disciples. we show our love for the Savior by the way we act and help others feel our Saviors love for them.

a thought i had during devotional was to invite everyone who reads this letter to read the Book of Mormon. that is a sacred book that bring us closer to Christ. as i read, i feel the Spirit and learn so much. i feel the scriptures and the spirit speaking to me and teaching me and guiding me. if we STUDY the Book of Mormon, Christ has promised us, through Gordon B Hinkley, that we will feel a greater measure of the spirit in our lives. we will draw closer to God and He will run to us. i have felt that here. if you are in the middle of the Book of Mormon, keep going. if you havent started yet, start in 3 nephi 11. i promise you that as you read this chapter and then the entire book, you will feel Christ's love for you and you will feel more purpose and direction in your life. the Book of Mormon is the best way to develop faith in Christ. reading it everyday has truly changed my life

i love you all!
Li Jiemei (sister Newman)

August 14th, 2012

Hello all!

wow- this week has been a crazy one. this letter is going to be a little shorter than usual. It was really great to hear about all the family reunions and gatherings. i loved getting messages from my cousins and aunts/uncles (plus that guy that married jennie). i am so proud of luke and mason- all the elders in my district told me about getting their eagle and they said that they are super impressed with you two. i'm glad everyone is safe and that the ATV incident turned out ok. the Lord is protecting us and He loves us.

i have felt overwhelmed by the love and prayers that i feel from everyone. prayers really mean so much to me. i have never felt support like this before. i know it is BECAUSE of your prayers that i am doing well. everyday, i feel more and more grateful that we are an eternal family. i was at the temple and we stopped to peek into a sealing room. i thought about when mom and dad were married (we were probably watching from heaven) and when we were sealed to luke. the sealing power is incredible. i remember doing sealings with grandpa Blake and just feel so much respect and gratitude for that sacred power and blessing.

for releif society this week, we had the general primary president come to speak to us. wow- i have never felt so much love and joy from a person before. she spoke about needing love. that is so vital to this work. if we don't have charity, we are nothing. she also spoke about our calling, which i think can apply to all callings in life. she said "we are not called because of who we are or what we can become. we are called because of what i WILL do and who i can BECOME." God sees in us our potential. He knows us better than we know ourselves and He calls us according to that knowledge. i was so excited to hear about my parents new calling to be ward mission leaders in CHINA. that is such a sacred calling. i have seen their love for the Chinese people- that is all you need. love and the spirit. God will direct us through the spirit as we open our hearts to HIm and to those we are serving. the spirit is such a sacred powerful tool and it can lead us to do more than we could do on our own (elder Scotts talk from last conference)

i wore out my first pair of shoes this week. SUCCESS!! i am buying more today at the bookstore. so my sister chord has a huge blue laundry bag. and we thought it would be really funny if i hid in it in our neighbor's apartment. they turned off the lights and left me in there- waiting for the sisters to get home. they walked in and said- there is a body in that bag!! it was so funny and the best part was trying to get out of it. haha i am loving all the sisters in my zone. we have three new sisters coming in tomorrow and i am excited to love them like our older generation loved us.

i testify that the atonement is real. Jesus lives and knows us. i am learning a lot about weaknesses but i am also learning about changing. seeking to become like Christ is the pursuit of a lifetime but everyday we can work on that goal. it just takes giving one day our all. and then the next day. there are times when i know it is not my own power that is keeping me going. as we strive to serve God everyday, we can have His power and spirit in our lives. i love you all. thank you for your support. i am so grateful that we can be together forever.

love,

sister Newman

August 7th, 2012

Hi everyone!
sister chord and i celebrated our one month at the MTC by spraying a can of silly string into the trash can. do not worry- there is photographic documentation of this crazy event. haha. i can't even believe it's been a month already. time is going by so fast and we just said goodbye to our older generation. next week, we'll get the next recruits and then we'll be the ones that look like we know so much (new missionaries are easily fooled) i'm really excited to meet our new sister and be able to help them not freak out their first week here. haha this week has been amazing and i am learning so much everyday. personal study time is so important to me. we are also learning so much as a district. our elders are great and we have gotten really close to the ones going to taichung with us. they are fun and it's exciting to work with them in the devotional on sunday, one of the sister told us a story about her granddaughter. she came home from primary and told her mom how much she loved the "awkward" song they sang in primary that week. the mom was confused and asked what the tune was. " mom- you know.....'awkward, ever awkward...'" (sung to the called to serve tune) haha sometimes i do feel pretty awkward. i think it's only going to get worse ahaha 
we just got back from the temple (ps- provo temple cafeteria is not as good as the bountiful cafeteria...but what is?) the temple is such an amazing place. i feel so empowered when i leave. i know that Christ is with me on this mission and the blessings i receive in the temple help me serve better than i could on my own. i feel such strength from the blessings and covenants of the temple. is the nearest temple to shanghai the hong kong temple? that would be amazing to go back there. i really thought about the power of the atonement this week, especially in the temple. we are saved through Him. i was reading in alma 31- where Alma starts praying for him and his companions to be strengthened in Christ ( i think vs 30..) because of His prayers, they were strengthened and made able to bear all that was asked of them as missionaries. what a blessing to know that we can ask and receive the blessings of the Atonement in order to get God's work done. teaching the Atonement is spectacular. you tell people that they can overcome their sin and overcome their weaknesses through Christ and it brings a light into their eyes. i know whenever i teach, i feel His love for me. i feel the spirit giving me the words. it's amazing to be led by the spirit so much. i'm trying to listen better. i'm trying to have the peace and the calm demeanor that is requried to hear the spirit.

in my patriarchal blessing this week, i was reading and finding all the words that are used to describe me (or describe who i can become) amanda maloy gave me this idea. i wrote all the words down and had one of the more artist girls in my zone create a little card for me. i'll send a picture sometime (there is no way to send pictures besides just sending the SD card home. i'll send it to kelly eventually- kelly would you mind uploading them?) anyway, i got the card laminated and it's now hanging at my desk. it is a special reminder to me that God and Christ know me personally. they know my strengths (and my weaknesses) and they want me to succeed. how amazing that the Creator of the universe would be mindful of my daily needs.

i learned about the power Christ has this week. i was having a hard day and just wondering if i should really be here. Satan knows how to grab hold of you and make you doubt and fear and feel discouraged. this is not from God. any negativity you feel could never come from God. I talked with my branch president and he helped me realize the power i have, through Christ, over satan. satan can get in your head but with Christ, you can make him leave. Christ has such power and I have really felt that this week. whenever i feel down or confused or discouraged, i know i can turn to Christ and He will fill me with faith, hope, and charity. He is love and He fills me with His love, which overcomes any other feeling. in moroni chapter 7, we were reading as a class about charity. my teacher told us that if we have any other motivation to be a missionary besides the sincere desire to love and serve God's children, then your motivation will eventually run out. the ONLY thing that endures forever is charity. only when we are filled with God's love and strive to show that love will we succeed as missionaries. or as individuals. i think of mothers when i think of the pure love of Christ ( i think of my mother). mothers are so full of love and the only thing they desire is happiness for their children. they guide and teach and serve their children out of pure charity. i am striving to be more charitable and i'm praying for the people of Taiwan.

in TRC this week, we really felt guided by the spirit. in our preparation and in our teaching. i love being in there are feeling the spirit and really learning about people's needs. it is great. i also love it because i see returned missionaries, who were once where i am. and now they are fluent and the servived! haha it gives me hope and encourages me to study hard.

in Moroni 7:33 it says that when we have faith we can all things the Lord requires of us. a personal motto i've tried to incorporate into my life is "you xinxin, you banfa." where there is faith (xinxin) there is a way to get things accomplished (banfa). i have felt my faith in Christ strengthened as He keeps His promises and answers my prayers. He is ever faithful and we can turn to Him in all things. i am very aware that you all are moving tomorrow. i can kind of understand how you are feeling. BUT only Christ can truly understand how YOU are feeling. He knows you better than anyone. there might be some fear, excitment, confusion. He knows you and He will not leave you alone and comfortless. Turn to HIm and He will succor you (alma 7:11-14). the atonement was wrought so that we could use it- daily. i was thinking of you all in the temple today and praying for you all week. there are many prayers being said on your behalf. let Christ strengthen you and let HIm help you find purpose and light in your life. I am so so happy that all of you were accepted into SAS. what a blessing. I am so proud of you all. Mom- i love you. you will be the means by which God will bless so many people in shanghai. I know that because i saw you bless so many in tainjin.  i love you all. be still and know that God is watching out for you. DC 123:24 ( i think) do all things cheerfully and then SEE THE HAND OF THE LORD BLESS YOU. man zou. be safe and stick together. family is more important than anything.

Kelly- send me your address for where ever i can reach you. your letters mean so much to me. more than you know. it's like having you here. i love you dearly

carli- i miss you more than words can say. you will change lives in china with your light and your testimony

luke- get that scooter! thank you for your emails. they mean so much to me. i love feeling your support and hearing about your life.

davis- i love you so much. i think of you often as i am constantly around worthy missionaries who remind me of you. i miss your laugh so much

blake- i am praying for you to have peace and feel God's love. He knows you and is ever mindful of where you are and what you are doing.

mom and dad- thank you for your love and support. i am loving being a missionary. this is wonderful. i love being a part of this work. i pray for you both to have strength and feel God's hand in your life.

i love you all. tell Dave west i got his letter and to please send more- hearing about eilee and karly and just everything was great. send pictures when you can. how was the reunion?! fly safe. i'll be following you out in about a month!!

all my love and prayers

-sister paige 

if anyone wants to do some service for a missionary- one of the girls in my zone needs support. she loves chocolate peanut butter anything. you can just send it to me and i'll get it to her. i love you all. thank you for your support.

4th email

DaJia Hao!

how is everyone's week? i am so grateful for all the letter and dearelders! they keep me going throughout the day. we get mail twice a day here at the MTC and it'll be weird once we only get it once a week out in the feild. i'm so spoiled here! i really am loving being here. Luke asked about my teachers- they are wonderful! they both served in taichung. Wen lao shi has been back about a year. we all really love her. her testimony of Christ is so stong and she really teaches us about so much more than just teaching the lessons. she inspires in us a love for this work and for the people. my other teacher is ruan laoshi. he has only been home 3 months. he is still getting used to this job- we are his first district. but he is a great teacher. he really pushes us to speak chinese and we have all been blessed by his example. i love my classes as we study the book of mormon, preach my gospel, and chinese. i am growing to truely love this language and the people. sister chord and i pray for them any chance we get. i know there are people there waiting for us and our influence

in district meeting this week, we had an amazing spiritual disscussion about the influence our actions have. many stories were shared about how one person's life has lead to generations being changed. i shared with them dad's story. i know that we will bless many lives, but i think the most important lives we will change are our own and our future families. i cannot express enough gratitude to my father, who served a faithful mission. i told the elders to touch as many lives as possible- 25(ish) years later, their daughters might come back and get the chance to continue the work in Taiwan. I love this mission and i love the people. I am so excited to go back to asia and change lives with the gospel.

Our older generation leaves on wednesday. some of them have already gone. an amazing elder is going to NYNY south, so tell austin to look out for elder liston. i am always overwhelmed when i think of all the amazing examples that have walked the halls of the MTC before me (cheesy, but true). So many of my cousins and friends, my older brother, and my dad. i am so grateful for this opportunity to learn as they learned and to be able to serve. I am praying to live up to their examples. so with our older generation leaving, we should have our younger generation arrive here in a couple weeks. the time is flying by so fast and i'm trying to use every moment. i love this work.

i was reading in my patriarchal blessing the other day and i can't believe how much all those blessing can relate specifically to my mission. I know patriarchal blessing are gifts from God and mine has blessed my life in so many ways. i have gained so much direction, not only from the words, but from the spirit that comes as i read it. the spirit here at the MTC is so strong and it really accelerates my learning and growth.

I was reading in Doctrine and covenants 19:16-20 the other day. It talks about all that Christ did for us, and if we repent, we will not have to go through the pain He did. i was so overwhelmed by love for my Savior. He suffered so that we don't have to. in verse 20, it says that we feel a small portion of that suffering when the spirit withdraws from us when we sin. the spirit withdrawing can be such a blessing if we use that to realize that we have sinned and then do everything we can to get that spirit back into our lives. the spirit is so important. i cannot stress that enough. He teaches us God's will and His promptings to us will guide us on our paths. i have been overwhelmed in all our teaching opportunities at how much the spirit is there. it tells us what to say and how to say it- i have felt my mouth be filled as i have the faith to open it. i don't know all the answers and i really don't know all the chinese, but i know enough for the spirit to use me. i am anxious to be a tool in the Lord's hands.

one of our investigators (its a role play- so it's just our teacher pretending. the situation might be fake but the spirit, that is always present, is real) has accepted baptism and we are working to get her ready to be baptized on the 18th. the elders are all having a hard time with this investigator and i am beginning to learn that the Lord needs both His sons and daughters to be serving. the sisters touch hearts in a way that elders cant. and the elders testify with such power and touch people in a way only elders can. i have loved getting to see so many worthy elders striving to do this amazing work. and the sisters here are wonderful! i found out this week that in taiwan, only sisters teach single sisters, and only elders teach single brothers. i am so thrilled to be able to see the spirit come into the lives of prepared women in taiwan. they are so ready for this message and the peace and joy it brings. i am excited to bring families together.

sister chord and i are doing so well! we love this work and we're taking life one day at a time. We'll be in taiwan before we know it and that will be a whole different adventure. yesterday, after companionship study, i was so tired. i offered to say the closing prayer. as we put our heads together and folded our arms, i started the prayer 'feng yesu jidu de ming..." ("in Jesus' name...") we both burst out laughing for 5 minutes and the second attempt at prayer was interrupted by our giggles. haha

it sounds like everybody had fun at the lake. i'm glad you're all safe. have a wonderful time at the reunion- i'm excited to hear about it! there might be a surprise from me while you're there. i love you all so much. i am praying for you all at this time of transition. you are in my thoughts and i'm glad i know the Lord will care for you when i cannot. turn to Him and let Him be your support. i have fasted that the move will go well and each of you, indivifually, will be cared for and be able to feel loved. my favorite scripture right now is 2 corinthians 12:9-10. in our trials, we can be made strong through Christ. Glory in hardship, because through hardship, we come to know our Savior and His grace and power. i love you all so much.

keep sending me letters. i am praying for you all.

yours forever,

sister Paige Newman 

Week Three

Hello all!

Third P-day in the MTC and it has been really great. They gave us these stretchy bands when we first came (resistance bands...i guess you would call them) we tried working out with them this morning but it just turned into us laughing and talking and NOT working out. haha the best laid plans. speaking of working out though- the gym here is so great. not like the actual place is really great but it's one of my favorite parts of the day when i can just go there and burn off some stress. mother- thank you for being my workout guru. you inspire me. the funny thing is- at the gym, all the girls come and ask me what work outs to do. apparently i look like i know what i am doing (they are easily fooled haha) so i do cardio and then work with the weights and it's so great. all the girls in my zone are complaining to me how sore they are. and my companion keeps showing off her "muscles" haha she's a twig. but it's so fun. i'm wondering if there is something i can do when i get home to get certified as a personal trainer or something. that would be really fun. anyway- mom all my girls think youre wonder woman. i told them- youre my workout idol :) i love you.

 

this week has been incredible. we had TRC last saturday. that's where volunteers (mostly RMs) come in and we speak to them and teach them in chinese. it is AMAZING. the spirit was so strong. we had two lessons on saturday. the first one was with a returned elder and a convert from GuiLin. She was amazing. we just shared our favorite scriptures and testified to them. the spirit was so strong. and the woman (lucy) just started telling us how excited she was for the Chinese people to recieve the gospel. she quoted the scripture that says the last shall be first and the first shall be last. The chinese people may be the last ones to hear the gospel but they will be the first ones to accept it. they are so ready and when they hear the truth, they recognize it. What a blessing for our family to be so heavily involved in the Lord's work in asia. I have never been more excited in my life than when i found out i was going to be preaching God's word in mandarin. like dad said- it's in my blood.

 

the language is coming along. I LOVE IT. there are hard days and days when i get frustrated. but on those days, God sends me comfort and peace. i was able to almost teach the first vision memorized. the spirit was so strong as i used Joseph Smith's own words to teach of that sacred event. Learning this language is such a blessing for me. It just feels so right as i speak and testify. we have a goal to testify in chinese once a day and that has brought the spirit into my life so much. even though they cant understand it, those who hear it can feel the spirit of our words. i feel like it might be the same when i get to taiwan. they wont understand my chinese (haha) but they will be able to understand my love for them and feel God's love for them. we taught a lesson to a progressing 'investigator' yesterday. wow. she had many questions and as we struggled to teach her, we found that we had the answers. they weren't complex answers because we lack the vocabulary. but they were the answers that she needed. she prayed with us there and it was a sacred experience as she asked if God was there. it reminded me of king lamoni's father. we were kneeling and the spirit was so strong. She could not deny that God knew her and was sending her His love. we committed her to baptism. We may not know everything but we know enough. God will take us as we are and use what we have. and help us become more. through small and simple things (i would say that describes me) great things are brought to pass. this is the Lord's work. He is the Master and I get to watch as He touches lives.

 

it's moments when i'm teaching that i feel God's hand in my life. He urges me to speak or act and I am learning how to listen. God is there. He is always there and He is helping us IF we will let Him.

i had a realization the other day. i was studying the cycle of apostasy and dispensations. we were preparing for a lesson that day. i realized, or more, it really sank in that this is the fulness of times. God has taken His gospel off the earth before but not again. we are living in a time prepatory to the Savior's second coming. we don't need to fear the future. we will ALWAYS have a prophet who holds the keys. we will ALWAYS be able to attend the temple and learn. We can be safe knowing that God has revealed His gospel and given us the ability/means to gain eternal life. this gospel will go forth as long as the earth shall stand. HOW AMAZING IS THAT. i feel so blessed to be a part  of this work. i am learning how to be a life long disciple of Christ. My parents have been great examples of that to me.

 

one last note. remember to use the power of prayer. in the bible dictionary it talks about prayer being the way to secure for ourselves blessings the Lord is already willing to give us. if we just ASK. i know that i am living below my potential. in enos it says that God promised Enos that their writings would be preserved because of his faith. because he asked. i wonder how much the Lord is willing to give us if we ask, with faith. i know as a missionary, i am in constant need of His gifts. they are ours if we will ask and seek and knock. my companion and i pray for the gift of tongues and that has helped us so much. we are blessed to know what to teach, study, and say at the moment we need it. i have also been praying that God will soften my tongue and my heart. i can be harsh sometimes and through Christ, and His gift of charity, i know i can change. whatever you are seeking, i know the Lord can provide.

 

family- i am praying for you as you are getting ready to move. i understand the feelings you're all having. but more importantly, Christ understands them. There is a reason we're destined to be asian (luke is the only one who actually looks the part) God is leading us all back to China and there is a reason. As we follow Him, He will reveal that reason. i love you all more than words can say and i am so glad our familiy can be together forever.

all my love and prayers,

Sister Newman (paigey)