Hello! HELLO!!
ALRIGHT, this week went by so quickly! I have so many events to share with you, so let's get to it!
MONDAY: As you can see from the pictures, Sister Liu and I went to the beach with one of our investigators Jane, an LA Amy, and a couple of other recent converts. It was so great! I took pictures! I feel like Taiwan is one of the most beautiful places on earth. It's amazing how God has created all of it just for us. His love is incomprehensible!! Anyway, after we got back, we visited Mian Mian Jiemei. She's the little cute grandma who loves singing, is a member of all the Christian churches here in Taiwan, and who likes to talk forever. It's hard to keep her on track, but we love her. :)
Tuesday: Tuesday was wonderful!! Sister Liu got into a bike accident last Sunday. We were crossing the street, and I was leading when I heard a scream behind me. Of course, it was Sister Liu almost getting run over by a Taxi. The taxi was turning right and didn't see Sister Liu crossing the street, so he ran over her front wheel. Thank goodness Sister Liu wasn't hit, and the Taxi brought us to a bike shop and payed for all the repairs. Anyway, we spent Tuesday walking an hour to the bike shop because Sister Liu's bike was at the bike shop. ahaha Such a great memory. We just walked and talked and just became the most unified companionship in the world. We laugh so much because we feel like an old grandpa/grandma couple. I'm the grandpa.
We also spent time powerboarding (English proselyting) outside of Costco. Afterwards, Sister Liu, our LA Amy, and I went inside to eat!! - We ended up buying a huge Costco pizza and eating until we couldn't eat anymore. PS Costco has the best free condiments: fresh-cut onions, pickles, ketchup, mustard, and more! It's hilarious because we LOADED our plates with ONIONS and just ate so much free condiments. Such a great memory. Oh, and when we were in the garage preparing to leave Costco, after stuffing our faces, these two guys came up to me and tried to get my number. It was really funny because Amy and Sister Liu kept telling them that they couldn't have ANY of my information. When they heard that, they asked if they could just have my name, but of course we didn't give it to them. I guess that's one of the reasons why it's important to have companions on the mission. hahaha eeeekkk! We ended up inviting them to attend church and then gave them an English tract.
Wednesday we met with Chen Mama and at beef noodle soup with her, swept, and mopped her floors. She is doing much better this week than last. Whenever we visit her, we make honey water for her throat. Her doctor gave her more medicine, so she is feeling more comfortable now. :) Sister Liu and I were so relieved.
Chen Hai Jin's daughter Luo Ping Ping woke up from her coma!!! The doctors said it was a miracle that she was able to recognize her mother's voice and open her eyes. They took her off her oxygen for a while, but then she had some problems breathing, so they put her back on for a while. Luo Ping Ping still is in shock and doesn't know where she is, so she tries to pull out all of the tubes whenever she wakes up. The doctors had to tie her down to help her stay calm. I am just so grateful for God's mercy for letting Luo Ping Ping wake up!! Chen Hai Jin even fasted in the middle of this week. Although she wasn't able to attend church, her faith really progressed, and we were able to see it through her actions!! What a wonderful testimony builder for me and for our investigator!
Lily came to English class and later discussed with me how she believes the scriptures. She believes in God, and she believes that this church is true!! She is going to move to a different city for school next week and will not be baptized right now, but I know that she will always remember our church. When the time is right, I know that she will continue investigating the church and hopefully be baptized. It's so touching to see such young people like Lily making good decisions in their lives. It's hard to find young people who think about life's purposes, etc. I know that the church truly brings greater peace and blessings to those who investigate!
Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday:
Sorry, every day was so great, but I'm just going to include the main events of these days for time purposes:
This whole week, it was raining because of typhoon season. It was wonderful!! :) Sister Liu and I love biking in the rain and wearing our ponchos. It's great to see people's reactions on the street when they see two young women smiling from ear to ear. They think it's pretty crazy of us. haha Anyway, we visited a ton of recent converts, less-actives, and investigators these past few days. It was funny because whenever we went inside their homes, they would always pull out the hair dryer and make me dry my hair before beginning the lessons. Taiwanese people are so wonderful. They always take such great care of me. It reminds me of how great mom and dad are! haha
One night, we were with a recent convert family, and they decided to order a pizza. It was raining cats and dogs, but Sister Liu, Amy, and I decided to go get the pizza from the shop in the rain. We were soaking wet when we got to the store and then realized that we forgot to bring a bag to cover the pizza boxes from the rain!! It was hilarious. Good thing Amy was riding a scooter, so she was able to quickly ride back home. Sister Liu and I kept spitting out water. It literally felt like we were riding our bikes in a pool of water. SOO much fun.
There's a bridge that we always ride past on our way to our appointments. Whenever we pass the bridge, Sister Liu yells, "A-gon ("Grandpa")!! Do you love me?!" and then I reply, "I LOVE YOU! A-ma!! ("Grandma") Do you love ME?" - And of course, she replies, "YEAH!" It's the best thing. Everytime we ride past that bridge, we yell the same thing.
Another day, Sister Liu and I ate lunch with Amy at Costco again. We went inside costco and bought one of their really cheap roast chickens. Then, we went down to the cafeteria and ate the whole chicken with our hands!!! It was so great. The chicken was only about 4 bucks total. It had a head and everything. It was SOOO DELICIOUS - the chicken and all those free condiments (relish, onions, etc.). What a great memory!
"Little Tree" came to church on Sunday an hour earlier than she did last Sunday!! She loves the environment and feel that it gives her. Earlier this week, she started crying because she's been having a hard time with her job. She said that she feels love and happiness whenever she comes to church, but she still isn't willing to believe in God. She doesn't have enough faith in herself or God to allow Him to help her. I told her that she needs to have hope!! If she has hope, she'll have faith, and then there will definitely be a way for God to help and direct her. :) Sometimes, all these people need is just a little bit of LOVE. Love can be expressed in so many different ways, but if we truly love these people, God allows them to feel our genuine love. I feel like there have been so many instances where I haven't been able to express my love through words, but I have been able to express it in the way I talk and the way I act.
Ashley Smith told me that loving God is the most important thing. I feel like what she said is so true. Everyday, I want to be able to say that I love God. So, I've made it a habit to ask myself, "Do you love God?" every single morning. It helps me focus my actions and work hard to be a representative of Him.
Yesterday night, we ate dinner at President Chen's house. We brought a salad and our homemade noodles and a thank you card for their family. It was so funny because President Chen though the noodles were American candy, so he ate three of them before Sister Liu noticed and told him that he had to cook the noodles first before he could eat them. It was hilarious because the whole time he was eating them, he thought, "American candy has no taste!!" (The noodles are just flour and water mixed together.) Anyway, I thought it was funny.
Ok. I hope everything is going smoothly for everyone!! Remember to read, pray, and go to church. Read scriptures, the ensign, liahona, new era, etc. Words of the prophets are so powerful.
Here's a quote from Elder Enrique R. Falabella's talk from May 2013 general conference. I think it can help everyone back at home, especially parents and couples:
"I remember the days when we used to send love letters through standard post or how we collected a few coins to call our loved ones from a phone booth or how we would draw and write love poems on plain paper. - Today all of this sounds like museum material!"
- This week's invite from Sister Chen: Take time to do one of these things for a loved one!! Write a letter or card for someone you hold dear!! Stop watching that TV! Stop checking that facebook, instagram, taking pictures of yourself. Stop playing those video games!! Take a moment to go on a walk, go on a picnic, write a letter, call a friend!!!
I know that God loves us!! His love means everything!!!
Love you all,
Sister Verina Chen
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