I chose the theme "no effort is ever wasted" this week because Sister Voss and I worked really hard to meet with people and with our ward, but number-wise we are failing miserably. And sometimes we spent a lot of time with people when we should have been doing other things - so it feels like we were wasting our time. But we realized that we can't worry about things that are out of our control and we were there in LOVE - and that is all that matters. We just pray that every thing we did this week had a positive effect on those people.
Monday:
We went to a BBQ place with a member. It was so good and so filling! I tried octopus and fish neck and all kinds of new things -- it was really good! It actually reminded me of BBQ's at home :)) It was a Korean place. While we were there the member was teaching us Taiwanese. I learned how to say, "have good health and be happy!" and then when I was trying to say it to the member when we were parting and I accidentally said, "have a cookie and be happy!" It's the same thing right?? I mean come on...cookies bring happiness! :)
We went to another restaurant to get a drink. It is a cat place! Listen to this! You can eat and they have live cats that just roam around the place that you can pet. It is sooo much fun! We played with cats on pday. Yup im in heaven. It was awesome! I love cats!!
We also went shopping at this famous night market, FengJia. Everything over here is so cheap! I should take advantage of that.
We went to a BBQ place with a member. It was so good and so filling! I tried octopus and fish neck and all kinds of new things -- it was really good! It actually reminded me of BBQ's at home :)) It was a Korean place. While we were there the member was teaching us Taiwanese. I learned how to say, "have good health and be happy!" and then when I was trying to say it to the member when we were parting and I accidentally said, "have a cookie and be happy!" It's the same thing right?? I mean come on...cookies bring happiness! :)
We went to another restaurant to get a drink. It is a cat place! Listen to this! You can eat and they have live cats that just roam around the place that you can pet. It is sooo much fun! We played with cats on pday. Yup im in heaven. It was awesome! I love cats!!
We also went shopping at this famous night market, FengJia. Everything over here is so cheap! I should take advantage of that.
We went to Vickie's house to discuss what we wanted to do for exercise class tomorrow. She is our new investigator and she really wants to help us out. So we got to go into her room, which is HUGE!! And we looked at some workout stuff that we wanted to do.
Then we had a great lesson with her. We thought that she was going to be someone who wanted to meet with the missionaries just because they are American. Like no real interest in learning about the Gospel of Christ. But we felt really good about her tonight. She is REALLY interested and willing to do everything that we ask her to do. She really likes the concept that ALL of us are God's children. Like we are all one big happy family :) She is awesome! I loved sitting in her room having a lesson with her in our workout clothes. It really felt like we were friends at a sleepover talking about what the church means to us and everything. It was very chill but very Spiritual.
Then we had a great lesson with her. We thought that she was going to be someone who wanted to meet with the missionaries just because they are American. Like no real interest in learning about the Gospel of Christ. But we felt really good about her tonight. She is REALLY interested and willing to do everything that we ask her to do. She really likes the concept that ALL of us are God's children. Like we are all one big happy family :) She is awesome! I loved sitting in her room having a lesson with her in our workout clothes. It really felt like we were friends at a sleepover talking about what the church means to us and everything. It was very chill but very Spiritual.
Tuesday:
So the big miracle today was that I actually got out of bed. You know when you are in your comfy bed with a fan at your feet, your whole body is sore and tired and you are just like "nope not today." But I did it. I woke up and exercised and the day went on as planned. It was SUPER hard to get up this morning. It is funny how you find the smallest things as a miracle when you are on your mission.
We found out that one of our investigators moved to get treatment for cancer. Pray that everything is ok.
Our exercise class was a success! two old ladies from the ward came and Vickie and Amanda came :) This time Vickie taught everyone the Wobble dance ... OH OH OH and we taught them the Cooton Eye Joe dance. Everyone loved it! :)))
We had a wonderful lesson with Vickie afterwards about baptism. She is ALL over it which is awesome! She is on date for August 1st!! :) yay! :))))
Wednesday:
This morning was kind of frustrating. We were going to eat lunch with a member but she gave terrible directions. And so we asked the elders where the restaurant was and they had no clue. So we were totally lost and they were mad that we were there yet. Anyhoo ... it was messy and got us in kind of a bad mood. But then we had hotpot which was so good! I tried shark and it was delicious!
We had a great lesson with Emily (usually her sister Grace is there but she is in Japan with her dad.) We talked about the Plan of Salvation. She had a really great question straight from the start. She talked about how we always talk about God's love for us. Well, if he loved his children then why would he make such an awful place as hell. And then we explained about the degrees of glory. It totally makes sense and it shows how much God loves us! Her favorite part was knowing what our purpose is here on earth. I feel like everyone has thought about that before.
When we were following up with her on prayer and scripture study she said that she had a good happy feeling when she prayed and read. I testified to her that those feelings come from God and that he is telling her that these things are true. I love testifying! I could really feel the spirit and I know that Heavenly Father was helping me say what she needed to hear. It felt like a spirit to spirit conversation. I thought about this. This is why I am here on a mission. I am here to help others feel and recognize the Spirit. I am really grateful for the opportunities that I have to share my testimony.
So the big miracle today was that I actually got out of bed. You know when you are in your comfy bed with a fan at your feet, your whole body is sore and tired and you are just like "nope not today." But I did it. I woke up and exercised and the day went on as planned. It was SUPER hard to get up this morning. It is funny how you find the smallest things as a miracle when you are on your mission.
We found out that one of our investigators moved to get treatment for cancer. Pray that everything is ok.
Our exercise class was a success! two old ladies from the ward came and Vickie and Amanda came :) This time Vickie taught everyone the Wobble dance ... OH OH OH and we taught them the Cooton Eye Joe dance. Everyone loved it! :)))
We had a wonderful lesson with Vickie afterwards about baptism. She is ALL over it which is awesome! She is on date for August 1st!! :) yay! :))))
Wednesday:
This morning was kind of frustrating. We were going to eat lunch with a member but she gave terrible directions. And so we asked the elders where the restaurant was and they had no clue. So we were totally lost and they were mad that we were there yet. Anyhoo ... it was messy and got us in kind of a bad mood. But then we had hotpot which was so good! I tried shark and it was delicious!
We had a great lesson with Emily (usually her sister Grace is there but she is in Japan with her dad.) We talked about the Plan of Salvation. She had a really great question straight from the start. She talked about how we always talk about God's love for us. Well, if he loved his children then why would he make such an awful place as hell. And then we explained about the degrees of glory. It totally makes sense and it shows how much God loves us! Her favorite part was knowing what our purpose is here on earth. I feel like everyone has thought about that before.
When we were following up with her on prayer and scripture study she said that she had a good happy feeling when she prayed and read. I testified to her that those feelings come from God and that he is telling her that these things are true. I love testifying! I could really feel the spirit and I know that Heavenly Father was helping me say what she needed to hear. It felt like a spirit to spirit conversation. I thought about this. This is why I am here on a mission. I am here to help others feel and recognize the Spirit. I am really grateful for the opportunities that I have to share my testimony.
Thursday:
Today we were going to meet Jenny (investigator) for lunch. We met with her at a McDonalds near her house. We actually waited there for 30 minutes. And then when she came we walked over to her house which was so much farther than we thought. Her sister wanted to make us lunch. But then when we got there her sister was not there. So we waited a little bit for her to come but she never did. We gave up and went back to a restaurant that was near the McDonalds. ok...it is REALLY hot and REALLY humid and we were REALLY hungry. I thought that I was going to die. In my head I was singing, "Deliver us!" from the Prince of Egypt movie. Back to the whole "no effort is ever wasted" ... Jenny was grateful! :))
We met with a less active member tonight. She has been having a really hard time with reading the Book of Mormon. She likes to pray though. But she says that reading the Book of Mormon takes too much effort. But guess what! We found out that she SOMETIMES reads the book of mormon. Or at least she has this week. Next step reading everyday! Really this makes me so happy :)) Baby Steps Baby Steps. No effort is ever wasted.
Friday:
You know sometimes you find such great joy in the smallest things?? Ya, today was full of those! First off SIster Voss made me feel really good by giving me a lot of compliments on my teaching. And then when we were practicing on how to teach the Plan of Salvation I remembered a Chinese word that I learned forever ago! And it totally came back to me right when I needed it. It was just one word that I remembered but it made all the difference to me. We weren't in a real lesson or anything but Heavenly Father knew that I needed that little boost of confidence. :)
One thing that I am really learning is doing everything in order. Like I am one of those people that don't like to waste time. If I am not doing something then I am wasting time. But I have realized that even if you are doing something you can still waste time - especially if you are not doing it effectively. Sometimes I will read PMG for 5 minutes here or there when I have a little bit of time to myself which I think is good. But they are never effective reads. I can never remember what I read when I do that, and PMG is not a book that I just need to get through. PGM is scripture! Gotta take it all in! :)) I have really learned that prayer really puts things in order. That is why we pray at the beginning and ending of every meeting, we pray on our way out the door, we pray over our food. It really invites the Spirit.
We went to visit Vickie at the hospital. she has to take care of her grandma there. She had a lot of questions about the Book of Mormon. And you know what she really likes? google. Whenever she didn't understand something she would try to google it. Or like look for mormon movies - she likes movies more than reading - haha!
Today we were going to meet Jenny (investigator) for lunch. We met with her at a McDonalds near her house. We actually waited there for 30 minutes. And then when she came we walked over to her house which was so much farther than we thought. Her sister wanted to make us lunch. But then when we got there her sister was not there. So we waited a little bit for her to come but she never did. We gave up and went back to a restaurant that was near the McDonalds. ok...it is REALLY hot and REALLY humid and we were REALLY hungry. I thought that I was going to die. In my head I was singing, "Deliver us!" from the Prince of Egypt movie. Back to the whole "no effort is ever wasted" ... Jenny was grateful! :))
We met with a less active member tonight. She has been having a really hard time with reading the Book of Mormon. She likes to pray though. But she says that reading the Book of Mormon takes too much effort. But guess what! We found out that she SOMETIMES reads the book of mormon. Or at least she has this week. Next step reading everyday! Really this makes me so happy :)) Baby Steps Baby Steps. No effort is ever wasted.
Friday:
You know sometimes you find such great joy in the smallest things?? Ya, today was full of those! First off SIster Voss made me feel really good by giving me a lot of compliments on my teaching. And then when we were practicing on how to teach the Plan of Salvation I remembered a Chinese word that I learned forever ago! And it totally came back to me right when I needed it. It was just one word that I remembered but it made all the difference to me. We weren't in a real lesson or anything but Heavenly Father knew that I needed that little boost of confidence. :)
One thing that I am really learning is doing everything in order. Like I am one of those people that don't like to waste time. If I am not doing something then I am wasting time. But I have realized that even if you are doing something you can still waste time - especially if you are not doing it effectively. Sometimes I will read PMG for 5 minutes here or there when I have a little bit of time to myself which I think is good. But they are never effective reads. I can never remember what I read when I do that, and PMG is not a book that I just need to get through. PGM is scripture! Gotta take it all in! :)) I have really learned that prayer really puts things in order. That is why we pray at the beginning and ending of every meeting, we pray on our way out the door, we pray over our food. It really invites the Spirit.
We went to visit Vickie at the hospital. she has to take care of her grandma there. She had a lot of questions about the Book of Mormon. And you know what she really likes? google. Whenever she didn't understand something she would try to google it. Or like look for mormon movies - she likes movies more than reading - haha!
Saturday:
HAPPY 4th of July!!!
Today was a great day! Sister Voss and I went with Vickie, Emily and Amanda to this pizza place. ENDLESS PIZZA! This time we did better at pacing ourselves. We knew which pizza we liked and which ones we didnt like. Our last plate was a hotdog pizza and an apple pie pizza. Does that scream America or what?! HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA!
I had my lesson 5 pass off as well. It was amazing! I really know that what am teaching is true and I am really gaining more confidence in sharing my testimony with others. And making it exciting! Like really this is very exciting stuff!!! I can't be a missionary who is quiet, scared to talk and not excited about what I am sharing. I am really learning how to express my love, testimony and desire in another language. Missionary work is just awesome!!!!
Sunday:
Sunday is always a great day! And it was fast sunday. My testimony of fasting definitely grows every month :)
We found out that most of our investigators actually don't live in our area so we have had to hand some over to other missionaries :( thats ok though! They are all still learning about the Gospel! :))
Vickie wins quotes of the week!
"When I am nodding it means I am playing chess with Jesus."
"I have always felt like something has been keeping me from improving. Maybe it's because I haven't read this book or been thrown into a washer."
Love you all and see you next week!
Sista G
HAPPY 4th of July!!!
Today was a great day! Sister Voss and I went with Vickie, Emily and Amanda to this pizza place. ENDLESS PIZZA! This time we did better at pacing ourselves. We knew which pizza we liked and which ones we didnt like. Our last plate was a hotdog pizza and an apple pie pizza. Does that scream America or what?! HAPPY BIRTHDAY AMERICA!
I had my lesson 5 pass off as well. It was amazing! I really know that what am teaching is true and I am really gaining more confidence in sharing my testimony with others. And making it exciting! Like really this is very exciting stuff!!! I can't be a missionary who is quiet, scared to talk and not excited about what I am sharing. I am really learning how to express my love, testimony and desire in another language. Missionary work is just awesome!!!!
Sunday:
Sunday is always a great day! And it was fast sunday. My testimony of fasting definitely grows every month :)
We found out that most of our investigators actually don't live in our area so we have had to hand some over to other missionaries :( thats ok though! They are all still learning about the Gospel! :))
Vickie wins quotes of the week!
"When I am nodding it means I am playing chess with Jesus."
"I have always felt like something has been keeping me from improving. Maybe it's because I haven't read this book or been thrown into a washer."
Love you all and see you next week!
Sista G