Hope all is well! Today it is Pday/Christmas Eve! Wow, so weird. This is my first Christmas away from home. Kind of hard, but at the same time I am very grateful to be here and the members are taking care of us so it's all good! Plus tomorrow we are having a very special Christmas fireside/breakfast/lunch/talent show. And tomorrow we are having a movie night with investigators and we're gonna watch a Christmas/Church movie. So that will be really fun. And then AHHHHHHH I GET TO SKYPE MY FAMILY. So excited! I have no idea what I'm going to say to you guys though, ha-ha. You're right Mom, I had better make a list beforehand so that I can make the most of the short time I have to see your faces.
Last week was so great!
1. THE DUCK IS HERE. So for the past 3 months, JiLong has been promoting this event called "The Yellow Duck." Basically, a giant balloon/boat Yellow Duck from Europe is docked on the harbor. There are also some tents that got put up, selling duck products. That's it. But HUNDREDS of people have showed up to see this thing. HUNDREDS. People from all over Taiwan and even China. The Taiwan mission really loves us right now because contacting has been amazing these past few days. People come up to us like every 30 secs and ask to take pics with us (cuz we are foreigners...this is really common) and then we strike up a convo about the gospel and BAM. referrals all around. Its been really fun, actually. I love contacting.
2. We have a baptism this Saturday!!! (originally it was on Christmas but we moved it because her husband couldn't come cuz of work and he wants to be the one to baptize her). This amazing woman named Sun Jie Mei is getting baptized! I LOVE HER. So a little more about her. She is from Indonesia. Chinese is her second language. She (as with us) can barely speak the language. Also, she is a slower learner. Teaching her at first was really a challenge because of communication...BUT THE SPIRIT IS REAL. She has progressed so much. Teaching her has really forced me and my companion to teach very simply and using lots of examples. The Spirit was very very very easy to invite into her home and over time we were able to communicate with one another. (We also learned some Indonesian and taught her some Chinese). She has a powerful, simple testimony and is so ready. I love her and will never ever forget her!
3. Heavenly Father has blessed us with a lot of baptimal dates set for January. We have 2 or more people set from every week of January. Having and using faith really works!
4. Last Saturday was...interesting. We met with this "former" who I called over the phone. She lives really far away. She has the fanciest apartment complex I have ever seen in Taiwan. When we were about to say the opening prayer my companion asked her, "Is there anything you would like us to pray about?" She said, "Yes, I have a request. Please could you pray for the end of the world? I want an apocalypse." My companion got quiet and in my head I was thinking, "LOL, how is my companion going to handle this?" I think Sister Zippro could read my mind cuz she glanced at me and said, "Sister Tracy, would you like to pray for us?" Shoot. I looked at the investigator and just was like, "Uh, can I pray for world peace instead?" Hahaha never thought I would be in that situation before.
5. Yesterday, we tried visiting an RC but she wasn't home. So we went knocking doors instead. A very old lady named Su Mama let us in. Her house was very dirty. She was very crude and laughed at us when we started talking to her about God and Jesus Christ. She gave us the most sketchiest apples I have ever seen/eaten in my life. We asked her if before leaving we could sing a Christmas song for her. We sang Silent Night. She stopped being loud and crude and immediately sat down and listened. The Spirit all of a sudden filled the room. Afterwards she got up, went into the kitchen, then came out again with a piece of paper with three phone numbers on it. "Here, I know some people that will want to know about your message. Thank you." WOW, music is powerful! The spirit is powerful!
6. The other day I saw a man sitting outside of our chapel. It was pouring rain and really cold and he was just sitting there begging people for money. I had a really good feeling about giving him something. That morning I read a scripture in Moroni 7 about how all good feelings come from God. So I decided to act on that feeling. I went up to him and said, "Sir, I don't have anything of much worth to offer you except this message." I handed him a picture of Jesus Christ with children that I had deep within my purse. I then began to testify of Christ, that He died for him, that He is the Savior of the world. That no matter what mistake we've ever made, it can be fixed. And that we can make change within our lives through Him. The man started crying and in Taiwanese (old people language) said "Gam Xia jie mei." (Thank you from the bottom of my heart, dear Sister). I will never forget that experience for as long as I live. I don't know what will happen to that man, but I know that because I acted on the Spirit I was able to help my brother feel Heavenly Father's love for Him.
This mission is very hard, but it's moments like that where I remember what life is all about. I am thankful for this time of year to remind me of my Savior and Redeemer.
Love you all.
Merry Christmas :)
Love, Sister Tracy
Well, thats the gist of last week. I wish you all an amazing Christmas
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