Washington - 4/14/13

Dear Family and Friends,

SHOUTOUTS:

Mom and Dad, thank you so much for sending Sister Huddleston those oatmeal dark chocolate cookies.  She was overjoyed to have received something in the mail.  :) I was so happy to hear that you host missionaries for dinner and are such a support to them! GO MISSIONARIES!!! - This week, I was able to express how grateful I am for you both for all your sacrifice, hard work, and success in raising all five of us kids.  I think you are both SO amazing for all that you do for all of us, and I can't thank you enough. 

  

Sister Paula and Dave Williams and their family sent me a package in the mail!! It was filled with home-made lollipops which I shared with my companion.  Make sure to tell them thank you for me!! They're so kind and supportive.  Aren't they the coolest?!

I received a letter from Sister and Brother Taysom.  - Too kind!

Alright, so this week, guess how many baptisms we have on-date?!? - THREE!!!! They are all getting baptized the weekend of April 27th.  Two of them are a mother and daughter (11-years old), and the other one is a middle-aged woman.  - I can't believe how much the Lord has blessed me and Sister Huddleston.  We are so excited for these investigators to be baptized.  They are such bright, beautiful people, and I love each one so much.

I also got to teach Eric and Jeff, two Chinese foreign exchange students.  I gave each of them a Chinese Book of Mormon, taught them how to pray in Chinese, and gave them the Restoration pamphlet in Chinese.  They are helping me with my Chinese. 

One thing that I have learned on my mission is that we are all missionaries.  Some of us are harvesters, others are planters, and most of us are nurturers.  - We all play a role in bringing people to the Lord, and although we may feel our efforts are worthless or very simple/small, we must realize that we ARE contributing to the work, and without each and every effort, the work would never get done.  It reminds me of a favorite that talks about how through small and simple things are great things brought to pass. - It's SO true.

I was also able to perform my Liszt Rigoletto for many families.  It always lighten the mood and helps people to trust us missionaries more when we sing or play music for them.  - It's important to use our talents whenever we can so that we may bless the lives of the people we serve. 

Ok. So, here are some of my favorite quotes from this week:

"Know this: That wherever you are, your Heavenly Father loves you.  He weeps when we weep... But He ALWAYS loves you, and Jesus Christ ALWAYS loves you." - President Mullen

"Before you criticize, always look into the mirror and see what you can change."

"When doubt or difficulty come, do not hesitate to ask for help."

"Fan the flame of your faith." - Elder Holland

"Be happy with who you are.  Don't heed the mocking voices."

"Accept that darkness exists, but choose not to dwell there."

Being on this mission has helped me grow so much.  I see miracles every day!! - The time is also going by so incredibly fast.  Can you believe that I have already been out for a month and more?! - The Lord really keeps us busy so we can spread His work.  I know that He lives.  He loves us and desire us to return to Him one day.  I am so happy that the work is increasing.  I have been able to grow more than I have in my life, and I am determined to continue growing so that I may be worthy of the blessings God has in store for each and every one of us. 

Thank you for all the support and emails! I love hearing from all of you and can't wait to share more experiences next week.

Love you all!!

Love,

Sister Verina Chen

PS The first picture is of me, Sister Huddleston and her recent convert Floyd.  We are preparing Floyd to enter the temple this year.

The second picture is of Sister Huddleston and I at the temple.  We aren't able to go to the temple this transfer, so we just took a picture outside of it. :)

I forgot to tell you all a story about my second baptismal invite this week.  We went to visit this woman for the first time last week and when it came time to extend the invite, this is what I said, "As you pray to know if this church is true, will you follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized on April 27th?!" - After that came out of my mouth, it was completely silent.  i couldn't even believe what I had said, and everyone took a minute to process what I had just said... and then, our investigator considered the invite and said yes!!! She thought it was amazing that she had asked for that day off from work earlier that week.

Isn't the Holy Ghost amazing?! It tells you what, when, and how you need to say things.