I got to see some of my besties from the MTC! | Hello everyone! Ok so emailing these past two weeks have just been crazy. I don't even know where I left off on my stories and such. But I guess that I could just give y’all the highlights of what it's like to be a missionary in Taiwan. First off I was able to go to the Taibei Temple this morning! It is a beautiful Temple. Look up pictures on google. But I will tell you a secret. The background is fake! There are hardly any temple grounds and right next to it is a gas station! It is really hard to get a good picture of JUST the temple. This temple session was really good. |
I have had a really hard past couple of days. I have felt a lot of stress. Don't know why. For those of you who know me - I fake it till I make it. Good thing Sister Carlson is such a great companion. She has been through a lot on her mission too and she is helping me out. I feel like I am sent here to help her out too - but in different ways.
I think it is really cool to see why you’re sent to your area. And I feel like every time I ask God what more I can do to serve Him. He always says something about my companion. I had a cool experience the other night. During my nightly prayers I asked God if I had done my best. He said no. I was like “What?!?” That day I handed out more fliers. Our lessons were smoother and filled with the Holy Ghost. I felt confident in my Chinese. My mind was thinking, "ya I was really successful today." But God told me otherwise. And then the next morning I prayed again and asked what more I could have done. He said, "Serve your companion". Having a unified companionship is super important. And right now I am trying to figure out how I can do better to serve her.
I think it is really cool to see why you’re sent to your area. And I feel like every time I ask God what more I can do to serve Him. He always says something about my companion. I had a cool experience the other night. During my nightly prayers I asked God if I had done my best. He said no. I was like “What?!?” That day I handed out more fliers. Our lessons were smoother and filled with the Holy Ghost. I felt confident in my Chinese. My mind was thinking, "ya I was really successful today." But God told me otherwise. And then the next morning I prayed again and asked what more I could have done. He said, "Serve your companion". Having a unified companionship is super important. And right now I am trying to figure out how I can do better to serve her.
I was unpacking (yes still unpacking) the other night and I showed Sister Carlson a book that I got in Arizona that talks about how to use the internet and mobile devices. It is geared towards missionaries but it has some great advice for everyone else too. Like what you put up on the computer is "actively choosing how others see you." Anyway – good stuff!
The people that we are working with are amazing! I love everyone here. We will most likely have a baptism before the transfer ends.
--There is this girl who we are teaching. Liu Jie Mei. She is a college student and super strong in the gospel already. She just has a lot of activities in Taibei on Sundays so she hasn’t been able to come to church. What gets someone to come to church? She says that she doesn't make church a first priority because she hasn't gained experience or a testimony of it yet. Well, the only way you can do that is by coming to church! Hah! She's cool. :))
--Chen Jie Mei is a grandma that we teach. She is my favorite! She totally acts like we are her grandkids and spoils us. It is sometimes hard to get through lessons with her though. To keep her focused. But so far she has faith and is coming to church (already came twice since I have been here.
--There is an LA that we are working with. She wants to read scriptures with us everyday for an hour. She is so strong in the Gospel and she knows everything to be true. She has low self-confidence though. She says that she doesn't have a testimony. She does. So we agreed that she could come out with us … like tracting and stuff - so that she can share her testimony with others. I think that will really help her. I have never had a member go out with us before (at least not here in Taiwan.)
The people that we are working with are amazing! I love everyone here. We will most likely have a baptism before the transfer ends.
--There is this girl who we are teaching. Liu Jie Mei. She is a college student and super strong in the gospel already. She just has a lot of activities in Taibei on Sundays so she hasn’t been able to come to church. What gets someone to come to church? She says that she doesn't make church a first priority because she hasn't gained experience or a testimony of it yet. Well, the only way you can do that is by coming to church! Hah! She's cool. :))
--Chen Jie Mei is a grandma that we teach. She is my favorite! She totally acts like we are her grandkids and spoils us. It is sometimes hard to get through lessons with her though. To keep her focused. But so far she has faith and is coming to church (already came twice since I have been here.
--There is an LA that we are working with. She wants to read scriptures with us everyday for an hour. She is so strong in the Gospel and she knows everything to be true. She has low self-confidence though. She says that she doesn't have a testimony. She does. So we agreed that she could come out with us … like tracting and stuff - so that she can share her testimony with others. I think that will really help her. I have never had a member go out with us before (at least not here in Taiwan.)
Ok next topic: FOOD! Everybody likes food. So I have tried some great stuff lately. There is this grandma who we are teaching. She is so cute and loves having us over. She made us dinner on Thursday. Homemade dumplings, fried chicken, sauces and passion/apple fruit drink. SO GOOD! She asked us what we wanted next week or what our favorite food was. I told her that my dad and I liked to make Ma po dou fu. So guess what she is making this week! (tomorrow) :)) |
A member also had us over for dinner. The bishop's wife. Sister Carlson is a little scared of her - haha!
I love her! She's the best! She made one of my favorites "fan qie chao dan" which is egg and tomato. She made a bunch of other stuff too:) oh and had beans for dessert. Ok, whoever thinks that beans are only used with mexican food or in chili is crazy. It is one of my new favorite desserts here :)
I love her! She's the best! She made one of my favorites "fan qie chao dan" which is egg and tomato. She made a bunch of other stuff too:) oh and had beans for dessert. Ok, whoever thinks that beans are only used with mexican food or in chili is crazy. It is one of my new favorite desserts here :)
I also tried some Dong gua cha mousse which was super good. And a corn soup with dumplings. Oh and we tried this new place with really yummy peanutbutter noodles. It is sooo good! They have egg and peanut butter in like everything! Dou Hua (dou jiang pudding) is also a regular. My diet is not very good right now - but eh I’m in Taiwan :))
This week an old elder that served in this area came back and did a little piano performance. It was really good! He is from America. I didn't get a chance to talk to him because he was surrounded by all the members. It was really good to go and just listen to piano music (mainly hymn arrangements) for a while.
Loving life! Love you all! Keep smiling!
-Sister Graham
-Sister Graham