Miracles!

Dearest family and friends,

So I'm so happy things have been going so well! Yeah!! GONGXI GONGXI!! (congrats congrats!!) I was super excited to hear from you this week and I'm glad things are going well. As far as a birthday gift....I dont even know! It's crazy..ummmmm all of my current investigators baptized please! Hahaha. But anyways, for real, I don't even know.I really don't need anything so if you would like to send me some things that would be fine but the easiest would just to put some money in my account and I will have my comp take me out to a fancy lunch or something. Haha. But I won't stop you if you want to send something. Just know I dont really need anything....Exept for maybe a mixed bag of american candy..hhahaha...

 

Anyways, life here has been a roller coaster and this week has put me on a high. Hahaha. Its been a much needed miracle week and I love it so much.  We had 5 people come to church on sunday which was absolutely amazing because we have been averaging 1 or 2 the past couple of weeks. We also managed to find 3 new investigators which is also fantastic! And then we have just had a bunch of little miracles. Saturday I was at the Temple doing tours that day and it was really great. I had almost an out of body experience and I just knew that it wasn't me talking to the floods of people coming into the church building next door to have a tour and learn about the temple. My companion and I actually had to split up and do tours in order to take care of everyone. I did like 3 tours all in Chinese all by myself and they werent a complete disaster! It was absolutely wonderful and it was so cool to really feel like and instrument in the Lords hands. I can promise that He really knows each of us personally and it's so cool to see that happen. Other than that life here has been really good. The transfer is already half way over and I can't believe it! It goes by so stinkin fast. I wanted to say thank you for the card I recieved last week. I'm so happy and I feel so loved. It has been a really rough week the past couple and to be able to get that after not really hearing for anyone was a tender mercy. I know that my Heavenly Father loves me and I know that everything is working out. I just love you all so much and I'm so happy to hear that everything went well. I can't wait to see pictures and I love you all the peices!!!

Tiffany

P.S. I just wanted to give you all some pictures and show you my area! The first is a park we go contacting at and the next is the park we run by every morning and the last is me and my wonderful companion! Who would have thought that a companion from Utah would be so stinkin cool! haha... We are headed to the zoo today so I definately will have more next week! Love you!

 

 

The Work Moves Forward

2/19

Things have been going great. We have been working a lot of finding new people to teach this week and showing our love towards our investigators. We actually had lunch with one of them this last week and we all rode our bikes over to this restaurant. First off, did I mention how crazy taiwanese drivers are? well, it's pretty bad. But put them on a bike and it's seriously worse! I'm still shocked I wasn't hit by a car or anything. Haha.

Did I mention it was misting outside (which happens a lot actually) and my companion bikes with one hand and the other holding an umbrella!!!! Gah!!! She and I just laughed the whole way there. hahahaha! Then later on that week I bought a bye-bye book( a book people can write in when I leave or when they leave) and I thought it was super pretty on the outside. It was just all white. Then when I openned it, I noticed that it seriously is like a old grandma book! It's like those country cook books mom sent me when I was in Idaho. I was shocked! Haha! But I decided to keep it because it would have been super hilarious!

Unfortunately, other than that this week wasn't super exciting. The only other thing that really happened is that yesterday I finally felt like this ward knew how much I love them. I was able to actually talk to people in my broken Chinglish! It was really great and I finally feel like I'm progressing with the language.

I have learned something new about myself though. I really really don't do well with tests. It's actually really sad. They have phases to pass off with the language to kind of prove that you can speak it. and I'm on the first phase working on teaching the first lesson and I can seriously do it perfectly with my companion and in teaching appoinments, but as soon as I step in the room to pass it off to my district leader it's so stinkin bad. I can't think of anything and the language just doesn't come. It's kind of a big obstacle to overcome but I'm working on it!

2/20

Well, this week has been really amazing, I have loved it so much. We had so many training meetings though. It was absolutely ridiculous. But last p-day we headed out to have a some fun and went to this giant ferris wheel. Not gonna lie heights really freak me out but ferris wheels freak me out more! Gah! No worries, I lived through that experience. Then afterwards we ended up just going out for something to eat and then heading home. You would be shocked to know how long it takes to get from one place to another here.

Then this week we just had meetings and such. So nothing super exciting. But one of our investigators is getting baptized next sunday!!!!! Gah I'm so stinking excited for her! It's amazing to see how much Heavenly Father really helps out with this work. This last week in district meeting though we had a pretty fun experience. The District leader decided to be funny and bring some food that he wasn't willing to eat..which is saying a lot because he is half japanese and will really eat everything. But we decided to play a game of jenga to see who would have to eat this boiled egg...just fyi they hard boil their eggs is soy sauce here..and it's actually kind of gross. But one of the other elders actually lost! Hahaha! It's hilarious because he absolutely refused to eat it and it was hilarious trying to coax him into to doing it. He is by far one of the pickiest eaters I have ever endcountered and I'm shocked he has lasted for 4 transfers in Taiwan. It's really crazy here. But I love it. 

 

Unfortunately this email is actually pretty short. We just haven't had anything super exciting happen this week except that one of our investigators is getting baptized!!! Her name is xiao jing and she is a members wife. She is only 23 and is about 3 months pregnant, but I'm so excited for her! She really loves this gospel and is one of the first people I actually taught! So it's nice to be able to see the work moving forward because I was able to help. I have included pictures and I wanted to tell you all I love you and life is good and the work is progressing and I'm still alive and speaking the language! I can't wait to call my family in May and just talk to you all and be speaking chinese!! Know I love you all and I'm thinking about you often!!!

 

 

Fun Stories from the Mission Field

Last week we had our temple day. But! The temple is so beautiful! And it's totally Asian! Its actually really hilarious but amazing at the same time. It's also one of the smallest temples I have ever been in, in my life! But it was wonderful!

Afterwards, We decided to have some lunch with Sister Thiessen and Sister Daye and it was so delicioius! We went to this Japanese restaurant and they grilled our food right in front of us! But it was it not as expensive as you would think. It's expensive for Taiwan but for America it's stinkin cheap! Like stinkin, stinkin cheap. We only spent about 8 dollars a piece and got so much food!

Then we decided to head to a gondola next to the Taipei zoo! 1) I really dont do well with heights...especially since I was in something that was only attatched to a wire! and 2)...I went anyways and the scenery was beautiful!!! It's kind of a silly thing for missionaries to do because it ends at  a bunch on tea plantations... But it was so fun!!! Then we headed back home and that was really the end of our p-day! So much fun!! But, my companion and I really realized that we are so blessed to have each other. We are really one of the only new companionships that really really get along. Which is crazy to think about but so true. She is seriously like one of my best friends in the whole wide world and my Taiwan experience would be really different without her. Lastly, every wednesday night we teach an english class and they always put the youngest missionary in charge of the most advanced class. I realized that my spelling is getting SO bad! AHHH! I dont know if I can live with myself! Just kidding! But seriously, I haven't been this bad since like the 4th grade! Gah! My students were correcting me! But they say it's a sign that means I'm learning the language..So I guess I can sacrifice my spelling abilities for a little bit!

Thursday wasn't too exciting because it was WPS (weekly planning session) and that with studies means we dont leave the house until about 4 in the afternoon. Crazy!!! But we were out contacting that night and I saw this old lady who was walking past me and said hi. She promptly looked the other way and continued to walk faster to get past me. My companion and I just laughed. The people out here scared really easily, especially to foreigners because they think you dont know the language and they can't speak english and they don't want to feel dumb. haha. but nonetheless it was really funny!
Friday and saturday were kind of a blurr but really really cool!

I went on exchanges for the first time with one of the temple tour sisters. Her name is Sister Austin and she is from Talahassee! I know! Great right! But the temple sisters calling is so awesome! The best part is that we taught lessons to their investigators that day! But while in companionship study Sister Austin really helped me realize a lot of things and gave me a huge boost of confidence. She actually reminds me a lot of my friend Hilary. It was like being on splits with her again only being able to really ask her questions about mission life. What a boost to my confidence! I always feel like I'm doing everything wrong and I hardly ever have the courage to speak to people. But she really gave me a lot of good tips and I've learned the past week that not relying on English is the only way I'm going to ever get this language. So in lessons if I pause when trying to talk to someone they know it's because I'm really trying to find the words to communicate and it makes our lessons so much better! But I also learned that there is absolutely no point in bringing your journal on exchanges because you don't have time to write in it anyways.

But I have a few really cool/hilarious experiences while out this weekend. We went running that morning in the same place I went when I first got here and we able to get there early enough that we saw the Taiwanese gaurd play the anthem and hoist their flag into the air! It was so cool. Then later that day we taught a lesson to an investigator and I was really able to talk to her and it really helped both of us out (the investigator and i) At one point Sister Austin gave me this look of like wow! Who are you?! Hahaha! It was really hilarious. And the last funny story. Her companions bike nearly killed me! The breaks seriously don't work and I nearly crashed into Sister Austin while turning a corner. When I told her that the breaks really don't work she said...and I quote" yeah, you just kind of have to prepare yourself" hahaha! So funny! It was a probably one of the best days of my life!

Lastly, sunday we had a miracle!!! We invited 8 of our investigators to church and 8 came!!!!!!!!!! GAH!!!!!! So wonderful! Then after church we had our studies and then headed over to wu mama's for dinner and then headed back to downtown Taibei for the fireside we have every month.Which they have all the missionaries sing in. Which they made me and my companion do a little solo in the beginning. Good thing we can both sing. Did I mention that we have to take a bus and it's the lantern festival today so the ride back and there was seriously so crammed! it's actually quite hilarious. just when you think you can't fit anymore people 10 more get on the bus!!! haha!
Overall it's been a wonderful week and I'm so stinking excited to tell you all about it!
I love you all bunches and I keep you in my prayers!!

Love,
Tiffany!