It was POURING rain all day on Monday. Even though it rains...it is still humid and hot. So once upon a time I broke Sister Daknis's camera so we had to bike all the way to the main city in Gao Xiong to get it fixed. When my shoes get wet they expand and it is really hard to ride my bike because my shoes fall off. They fell off twice while we were biking on the freeway. I gave up and just took my shoes off. I probably looked like a hobo. But it is easier than biking with them on.
The past week we hit some rough patches. No one wanted to talk to us. The normal response was, "All religions are the same. There is no difference between what you have and what I have." And for a while I started to listen and believe. I saw my faith faltering. I told Sister Daknis my concern and she reminded me of a quote, "Doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith." I prayed and had the question come to mind, "What is the source of the doubt?" I thought about it. I was having these feelings of confusion and I know that these feelings did not come from God. I realized that I was looking sideways, not upward. Word of advice: Look upward. You have more peace of mind. You are happier and have more love towards others. I prayed a lot to know the truth and I studied it out for myself. I know that this Gospel is different than other religions. I know that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is necessary to return to Heavenly Father.
The past week we hit some rough patches. No one wanted to talk to us. The normal response was, "All religions are the same. There is no difference between what you have and what I have." And for a while I started to listen and believe. I saw my faith faltering. I told Sister Daknis my concern and she reminded me of a quote, "Doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith." I prayed and had the question come to mind, "What is the source of the doubt?" I thought about it. I was having these feelings of confusion and I know that these feelings did not come from God. I realized that I was looking sideways, not upward. Word of advice: Look upward. You have more peace of mind. You are happier and have more love towards others. I prayed a lot to know the truth and I studied it out for myself. I know that this Gospel is different than other religions. I know that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is necessary to return to Heavenly Father.
I went on exchanges with Sister Lin. Being with her I felt a bigger desire to learn Chinese and improve. I started to write in my spiritual journal in Chinese to see if I knew the Characters. Chinese is still hard. But I am excited to be living with a Chinese at BYU.
English class was a success this week. There is a family that Sister Daknis and I have been targeting. Cobra is the dad's name, mom doesn't have an English name and daughter's name is Iris. They are friends with our RSP. They have been coming to activities for a while. Well, after class Cobra saw the Book of Mormon on the display table. He got so excited when he saw it. He picked it up and showed his wife. "This is the book!" We have a spiritual share at the end of every class and we use the book of Mormon, videos and other things to tell stories. He wanted a copy and start reading it. Yay! They agreed to talk about it after class next week.
There is another family who started reading the Book of Mormon because of English class. Her name is Rita and she has 2 kids. She has come 3 times so far and knows this gospel can change her life. She lives in a different area but her restaurant is in our area.
Sister Daknis and I got locked out of our apartment one morning. That was...fun. Happened before and the locksmith told us how to break in so that we don't have to call him again. Well, we forgot to make the took\l to get in. So we called the elders and they brought all of their tools. We tried to get in for about 1 hour...nothing. So we called the locksmith. He ended up giving us the tool. Sweet! Don't worry I am not going to try and get into anyone else’s door.
English class was a success this week. There is a family that Sister Daknis and I have been targeting. Cobra is the dad's name, mom doesn't have an English name and daughter's name is Iris. They are friends with our RSP. They have been coming to activities for a while. Well, after class Cobra saw the Book of Mormon on the display table. He got so excited when he saw it. He picked it up and showed his wife. "This is the book!" We have a spiritual share at the end of every class and we use the book of Mormon, videos and other things to tell stories. He wanted a copy and start reading it. Yay! They agreed to talk about it after class next week.
There is another family who started reading the Book of Mormon because of English class. Her name is Rita and she has 2 kids. She has come 3 times so far and knows this gospel can change her life. She lives in a different area but her restaurant is in our area.
Sister Daknis and I got locked out of our apartment one morning. That was...fun. Happened before and the locksmith told us how to break in so that we don't have to call him again. Well, we forgot to make the took\l to get in. So we called the elders and they brought all of their tools. We tried to get in for about 1 hour...nothing. So we called the locksmith. He ended up giving us the tool. Sweet! Don't worry I am not going to try and get into anyone else’s door.
We met with Kismet. She moved to Tai Zhong but came back for a few days. She is more independent in Tai Zhong and feels like she needs to rely on God. She told us that she believes God exists. She will sit out on her balcony at night, look at the stars and pray. She is so cute and slowly accepting the Gospel :) She is changing too. She is happier :)
During Comp Inventory on Friday I realized something. Sister Daknis and I were talking about comparing ourselves to other people. It is so easy to compare yourself to others. So easy to look sideways. As we were talking I realized why the Gospel makes me so happy. I used to be so competitive. Why are we competitive? I think a part of it is wanting a sense of belonging and accomplishment. But I have found that with the Gospel you don't need to look sideways for a sense of accomplishment. You don't have to be better at something than someone else to feel like you are worth anything or accomplished anything. It is so easy to want to "prove" your worth through worldly things. But the Gospel helps me remember that the worth of souls is great in the sight of God. I find my worth from God, not from other people. God can't lie. So we can ask Him if we are doing what we are supposed to be doing. I do this through personal accountability every night. I asked God a couple of questions:
"What did I do well today?" "What can I do better tomorrow?" This helps me with individual improvement and personal revelation. I also have a prayer journal to write my impressions. This helps with my relationship with God.
During Comp Inventory on Friday I realized something. Sister Daknis and I were talking about comparing ourselves to other people. It is so easy to compare yourself to others. So easy to look sideways. As we were talking I realized why the Gospel makes me so happy. I used to be so competitive. Why are we competitive? I think a part of it is wanting a sense of belonging and accomplishment. But I have found that with the Gospel you don't need to look sideways for a sense of accomplishment. You don't have to be better at something than someone else to feel like you are worth anything or accomplished anything. It is so easy to want to "prove" your worth through worldly things. But the Gospel helps me remember that the worth of souls is great in the sight of God. I find my worth from God, not from other people. God can't lie. So we can ask Him if we are doing what we are supposed to be doing. I do this through personal accountability every night. I asked God a couple of questions:
"What did I do well today?" "What can I do better tomorrow?" This helps me with individual improvement and personal revelation. I also have a prayer journal to write my impressions. This helps with my relationship with God.
We had a wonderful lesson with Yan Xiu Zhen. She is doing great! She admitted to us that there is a voice that tells her not to read or some back and see us. But when she has those feelings she just turns straight to the Book of Mormon and her doubt goes away. Cool huh? Satan is working on her hard, probably means that she is ready for baptism. :)) Her lessons are hard because she has a lot of questions about the Book of Mormon stories. She is really trying to understand. But she now has a big desire to know if these things are true.
We have been doing an activity called, POWER HOUR, in our zone. We have 1 hour from 6-9 at night. (each companionship can choose the exact time). We do a finding activity for that one hour and we have a goal and a plan to reach that goal. Like goal: 3 set ups. Plan: ask questions of the soul (Do you believe in God....) I really like it! We have been able to meet a lot of people. An even though a lot of them are not that interested we have been able to help people ready their hearts to receive the word in the future.
I love Taiwan. I love being a missionary. Time flies.
Love you all!! :))
-Sister Graham
We have been doing an activity called, POWER HOUR, in our zone. We have 1 hour from 6-9 at night. (each companionship can choose the exact time). We do a finding activity for that one hour and we have a goal and a plan to reach that goal. Like goal: 3 set ups. Plan: ask questions of the soul (Do you believe in God....) I really like it! We have been able to meet a lot of people. An even though a lot of them are not that interested we have been able to help people ready their hearts to receive the word in the future.
I love Taiwan. I love being a missionary. Time flies.
Love you all!! :))
-Sister Graham