5-11-14

Hello!

Da jia hao!

haha guess I'll actually update you on life now. Though it's a little weird since I just talked to ya'll a couple hours ago... haha

This week really has been full of miracles! On Wednesday night I was able to finally set up with a referral I've been trying to call for 2 weeks. She's from english class. But her story is actually a lot cooler. It goes back to just after I first got into BaDe. We asked our bishop who in the ward he'd like us to visit. One of those names was a sister we couldn't find her address and her phone is no longer in service so the bishop just thought she'd moved. Well, as we met with this beautiful sister on Thursday, we discovered that she was the LA I'd looked for a few months ago and had been unable to find. But the story gets even better since as we were talking, she really opened up to us about how she's having a hard time and really needs peace. I feel like our lesson really helped her. She also agreed to go with us to Taibei for a temple tour this Saturday since it's our temple tour day. Definitely a big miracle. As she was walking us back to our bikes though, she was talking about how xingku we were for having to ride our bikes to YingGe so much (she lives in YingGe) and one day she saw us riding our bikes talking to people in YingGe and she thought to herself, "okay, I guess now I need to go to church!" So that Wednesday she came to English class. It's so true. Absolutely no effort is wasted. She just saw us riding our bikes and that got her to come to English class where we can work on helping one more lost sheep come back into the fold. Definitely a huge miracle.

Another big miracle happened between Saturday and yesterday. Saturday night I called an LA family we usually visit on Sunday nights. He didn't want us to go visit because he wanted to spend the day resting, so I asked him to at least come to church. His response was that he was too lazy and his faith wasn't doing so great. I then bore my testimony of how much church would help him, that I knew he most definitely needed to be at church if he felt that way. Sadly, the conversation ended with me feeling kind of down because I felt like he hadn't gotten much better. So I was definitely shocked yesterday when I was talking to a member and hear my companion say his name. Definitely made me very happy. Then last night I called to tell his wife happy mother's day but also see how he liked church since he'd come alone. He told me how he absolutely loved church and it would've been a real shame if he hadn't gone. He also said he knows he needs to keep coming. Definitely helped me feel better, sometimes we really do get to be instruments in God's hands to soften hearts of these amazing people. I was grateful to be an instrument in his hands :)

This week I've also struggled a lot. I think because every missionary struggles hitting the end of their missions. But I also see that Heavenly Father has blessed my life so much. My poor companion has had to deal with it as people have said off-hand comments that have hurt my feelings or the moments that I've been sick and Satan decides to just hit me a little harder and knock me down a little farther. I'm really grateful for Sister Singh. She's been such a light in my life, especially lately. She's a truly amazing companion.

Monday we had a fun girl's night with some of our members. Well, the most of a girl's night you can get as a sister missionary. We went out to eat with Liu Jiemei and a few other people. It was so much fun. I love them. It was so good for me!

Tuesday we had zone training which means most of the day was taken up with meetings, studies, and traveling. Sadly, that day I also started to hit the downside on being sick. That night I ended up calling President for permission to get a blessing since I really didn't feel well at all. However, Elder Allred is incredible and was so sweet about it. I love it when Elders really understand the priesthood power they hold and have such a respect for it. It was a truly beautiful blessing. We also did it at Yue Bao's home, which is where I skyped from today. :) Yue Bao is awesome. I love her.

Wednesday I discovered my companion is actually more stubborn than I am. Didn't think that was possible! I was coughing so hard in studies, she made sure I went to the doctor's that day. Also, since I was still coughing really bad later, she got permission so I'd go home and sleep, even if it was only for an hour I think it still helped me :)

Thursday we went and spent the day in YingGe. That's when we found our miracle LA I already told you about. We also went to visit another LA that I love. She's one of the reasons I'm sometimes frustrated with Taiwanese culture. Their culture is all about family but also about working and money. She's had to work really hard her whole life and it's one of the reasons she's an LA, she has to work Sundays to support herself with her younger siblings. It's so sad because I feel like otherwise she'd be an amazing fully active member. She really seems to love this gospel.

Friday we had some lessons but I'm not sure I can say anything truly special happened in them. It was also transfer meeting. So it's official, I'm blessed enough to end my mission as an YingGe sister with Sister Singh. I'm so happy about this and so grateful for it. I love this ward and this area. This week I especially fell in love with YingGe. It's such a beautiful city. Sadly, I can't even give you a real taste of its beauty, it's just impossible to capture by camera...

Saturday was a great day. We went back to YingGe. We found an awesome new investigator. He's met missionaries before and didn't seem interested at first but we bore our testimonies and shared a scripture with him and he really changed afterwards. Yep, proof that scriptures are truly powerful :D

Sunday was a really good day with a really bad black spot. We went to visit some members that live in our boundaries but go to Luzhou. It wasn't originally our plan but we felt like it was the right thing to do. They spent the entire time criticizing our leaders and our ward. It was really hard on me. They were criticizing my family, and we all know how loyal and protective I am so it was hard to just sit there and listen. Then we shared a scripture and bore our testimonies. That was the black spot but I was really proud of Sister Singh and I that we both kept our cool. I guess we've both learned a little more patience lately :) But we also had ward conference yesterday and it was awesome! It was such a good conference. It was also heart warming afterwards since we took a big ward picture then us sisters took pictures with some of the members we've gotten to be good friends with. They really are my family and I love them to death. They about broke my heart when they found out I'm starting my last transfer and told me not to go. One even said she's coming to the airport to see me off. I told her I love her but she's not allowed to do that, saying goodbye in BaDe is fine. haha. I really love this ward.

It's been such a great week. Hopefully it's been just as good for ya'll. Hope things are good in your side of the world. Love and miss you all. Until next week. Jiayou!

Love, Sister Thomsen